Vol 7 - July Edition

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	Date: 19 April 2024 \| Vol: 2014/7

Greetings from the 7^th Annual Kuala Lumpur Eco-Film Festival and Happy Ramadan!

Visitor,

With the fasting month upon us, the KLEFF Crew is hard at work making sure everything is prepared for October's main event!

As a reminder, the 7^th Annual KLEFF will be held at MAP Publika from October 17^th – 19^th 2014. For more information, log on to www.ecofilmfest.my.

There are only a few short months left until the return of the KLEFF so preparation is essential. Remember that there are still plenty of opportunities to get involved as a volunteer, sponsor, vendor or exhibitor, or even as a film entrant (deadline, 31st July 2014)!

Official Selections Announced!

With the Festival weekend fast approaching, the KLEFF team has been hard at work reviewing films to name as official selections. We’re now pleased to announce our first 7th Annual Kuala Lumpur Eco Film Festival Official Selections!

	DamNation Running time: 1 hour 27 minutes \| USA \| Directed by Ben Knight & Travis Rummel This powerful film odyssey across America explores the sea change in our national attitude from pride in big dams as engineering wonders to the growing awareness that our own future is bound to the life and health of our rivers. Dam removal has moved beyond the fictional Monkey Wrench Gang to go mainstream. Where obsolete dams come down, rivers bound back to life, giving salmon and other wild fish the right of return to primeval spawning grounds, after decades without access. DamNation's majestic cinematography and unexpected discoveries move through rivers and landscapes altered by dams, but also through a metamorphosis in values, from conquest of the natural world to knowing ourselves as part of nature.
	Emptying The Skies Running time: 1 hour 18 minutes \| USA \| Directoed by Douglas Kass Based on a magazine essay written by noted best-selling novelist Jonathan Franzen for The New Yorker and widely republished around the world, "Emptying the Skies" chronicles the rampant poaching of migratory songbirds in southern Europe Songbird populations have been drastically declining for several decades and a number of species face imminent extinction. The film explores the wonder of these tiny globe-flying marvels, millions of which are unlawfully slaughtered each year for large sums on the black market, and follows an intrepid squad of pan-European bird-lovers who risk their lives waging a secret war against poachers, disrupting illegal trapping and freeing as many birds as possible.
	GMO OMG Running time: 1 hour 23 minutes \| USA \| Directed by Jeremy Seifert How do GMOs affect our children, the health of our planet and our freedom of choice? Is it even possible to reject the food system currently in place or have we lost something we can't gain back? Director and concerned father Jeremy Seifert goes in search of answers. From his family's table to Haiti, Paris, Norway and the lobby of agra-giant Monsanto - from which he is unceremoniously ejected. Along the way he gains an insight into a question that is of growing concern to citizens the world over: what is really on your plate?
	Plastic Paradise Running time: 57 minutes \| USA \| Directed by Angela Sun EVERY single piece of plastic that has ever been created since the 19th century is still SOMEWHERE on our planet. So if it never goes away, where does it go? The invention of synthetic plastic created an era of disposable products. Watertight and endlessly malleable, plastic is the perfect invention yet, its miraculous durability is also its curse because it never goes away. In the early 21st Century, rumors about an island of garbage somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, started to rise. TV host and filmmaker ANGELA SUN, decided to investigate. Her journey takes her thousands of miles from human civilization. There, in what should be a remote tropical paradise, she discovers an ecosystem inundated by plastic waste.
	Revolution Running time: 1 hour 27 minutes \| USA \| Directed by Rob Stewart Revolution is an exhilarating and hard-hitting full length feature film from award-winning Sharkwater filmmaker Rob Stewart. Not only does it shed light on crucial environmental topics and how we can save the planet, but he shows how past world events have taught us what we need to do to save the future. Stewart met with renowned world experts who helped him find out about important issues affecting our lives. In an effort to uncover the secrets to a safer world, Stewart goes on an adventure filled with action and drama that will leave audiences around the world, at any age, inspired about how they can get involved in the fight to save our planet.

These films have already gained critical acclaim and won various awards, so we’re proud to feature them and the causes they represent at this year’s KLEFF.

Remember that these films are being screen free to the public amidst an entire festival that celebrates green living. With the quality of local and international films provided, the weekend is sure to provide an entertaining and informative occasion.

KLEFF & Viddsee

The KLEFF team is proud to announce a new partnership with online short film platform Vidsee!

Viddsee is an online platform for short films around Asia. By bringing a network of filmmakers together to showcase their short films, Viddsee enables a curated experience for audience to easily discover, watch and share stories from Asia on their desktop and mobile devices. Viddsee's vision is to continually grow the community of short film audience and to enable a wide and accessible market reach for short films.

By partnering with Viddsee, KLEFF film submissions will be showcased on Viddsee, giving film and environment enthusiasts easy access to the films and causes that affect them.

The channel was officially launched on 1st July, so be sure to head over and check it out.

2014 Sentinels of Time Photography Competition

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Besides the Annual KLEFF, Festival organizers, EcoKnights, provides many other great opportunities for people to get involved with their communities and their environment. That’s why the 2014 KLEFF team is pleased to support another wonderful program, the Sentinels of Time Photography Competition.

This year’s competition is focused on “Urban Nature”; those beautiful and sometimes rare occasions where the modern and natural worlds live in harmony with one another. Anyone can apply, so long as the photo submitted shows Urban Nature in Malaysia.

Much like the KLEFF, the Sentinels of Time Photography Competition aims to showcase the environment for all its beauty and all the problems it faces. We feel that this is a great opportunity for people to highlight their surroundings and with a top prize of RM2,000 it’s also a great way to earn some cash!

To submit a photo, for more information on the competition, or to check out photos from previous competitions, please visit our website.

KLEFF Call for Sponsors and Partners

The KLEFF would not exist were it not for the help and support of our sponsors and partners. Fortunately, the Festival is able to repay such a debt through wonderful and far reaching advertising and branding opportunities!

Apart from the Festival itself (17-19th Oct 2014), the KLEFF also offers many additional marketing opportunities throughout the year. From the KLEFF Programme Guide (25,000 copies) to our monthly e-newsletter (that goes out to 7,000 ++ names in our database) the KLEFF provides an abundance of arenas in which your brand can be advertised.

To get a better idea of what the KLEFF can do for you and your organization, view this year's Sponsorship Prospectus. Help us help the environment through your sponsorship and support today!

Wanted: Food and Beverage Vendors

Vendor Applications One of the main and most important logistics we need to take care of is keeping our KLEFF guests happy through snacks and beverages. Because the event lasts all weekend and draws people from all walks of life, plenty of culinary variety is needed!

Of course, being an environmental event, we’d love to get some organic or otherwise “green” food and beverage vendors involved. However, we know there are plenty of non-organic providers out there who would love to support an environmental cause and we welcome their sponsorship as well! All we ask is that packaging is kept to a minimum and that non-reusable items are recyclable.

If you’re keen to join our cause and get involved during festival weekend, be sure to sign up for F&B sponsorship today! Remember, you’re not just supporting a wonderful cause, you’re also putting your product in the hands of a large, diverse audience.

Green Vibes Calls for Performers

Performers Applications We have not forgotten about the musicians out there! You can be part of the 7th Annual KLEFF’s GREEN VIBES: the musical performance feature of the festival.

With the aim of bringing together local artists in support of the environment through music, GREEN VIBES is a dynamic platform for emerging as well as current performing acts in the country.

This year, GREEN VIBES performers will take stage at The Bee, Publika on Sunday, October 19th, 2014 from 2pm until 8pm

So, if YOU are a performer with a passion to perform for a cause, contact us NOW.

2013 Anugerah Hijau Green Film Winners to Submit Films

Anugerah Hijau 2014 EcoKnights flagship youth program, the Anugerah Hijau competition, annually produces quality environmental films made by Malaysian students. This year the Kuala Lumpur Eco Film Festival will showcase those efforts by featuring the top three films from the 2013 Anugerah Hijau Green Film competition.

The following films will represent the Anugerah Hijau at the 7th Annual KLEFF:

	Aku Plastik Kamu Running time: 10 minutes 5 seconds \| Malaysia Directed by Mustaqim bin Abu, Azhar bin Salleh & Rachmat Hidayat Mustamim Concept of numerical presentation of facts through narrative style, this short film tells the cyclical journey of a lifetime plastic bags can only be terminated by self-awareness. Each chapter will be punctuated alternately with numerical facts relating to disadvantages of plastic bags.
	S.O.B - Save Our Bats Running time: 9 minutes 11 seconds \| Malaysia Directed by Lee Ching Ching & Lee Shan Shan This video is about a school's effort to save the bats living in their school attic through a project led by team Eco-Preneurs. Join them as they carry out several activities such as bat house making, exhibitions and competitions to raise awareness of students on the need to conserve the bats.
	The Story of Awak Running time: 4 minutes \| Malaysia Directed by Andy Ho Hsin Aun & Ariff Ariffin Hew Development has taken its toll on our forests, the animals that have made the jungle their homes have been forced to move as everything is being destroyed. This is the story of a Malaysian monitor lizard that has been forced out of his sanctuary.

The KLEFF team welcomes the films and their creators and is excited to highlight the amazing efforts of these environmentally conscious students!

Well, that's all for now folks. For any inquiries, please feel free to contact the KLEFF secretariat at info@ecofilmfest.my. Have a good day!

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The Kuala Lumpur Eco Film Festival (KLEFF) is organized by EcoKnights, a non-for-profit environmental organization registered with the Registrar of Societies Malaysia. EcoKnights' core focus areas are in environmental education and awareness using innovative and creative platforms such as the KLEFF. More information about EcoKnights can be obtained from www.ecoknights.org.my.

	DamNation Running time: 1 hour 27 minutes \| USA \| Directed by Ben Knight & Travis Rummel This powerful film odyssey across America explores the sea change in our national attitude from pride in big dams as engineering wonders to the growing awareness that our own future is bound to the life and health of our rivers. Dam removal has moved beyond the fictional Monkey Wrench Gang to go mainstream. Where obsolete dams come down, rivers bound back to life, giving salmon and other wild fish the right of return to primeval spawning grounds, after decades without access. DamNation's majestic cinematography and unexpected discoveries move through rivers and landscapes altered by dams, but also through a metamorphosis in values, from conquest of the natural world to knowing ourselves as part of nature.
	Emptying The Skies Running time: 1 hour 18 minutes \| USA \| Directoed by Douglas Kass Based on a magazine essay written by noted best-selling novelist Jonathan Franzen for The New Yorker and widely republished around the world, "Emptying the Skies" chronicles the rampant poaching of migratory songbirds in southern Europe Songbird populations have been drastically declining for several decades and a number of species face imminent extinction. The film explores the wonder of these tiny globe-flying marvels, millions of which are unlawfully slaughtered each year for large sums on the black market, and follows an intrepid squad of pan-European bird-lovers who risk their lives waging a secret war against poachers, disrupting illegal trapping and freeing as many birds as possible.
	GMO OMG Running time: 1 hour 23 minutes \| USA \| Directed by Jeremy Seifert How do GMOs affect our children, the health of our planet and our freedom of choice? Is it even possible to reject the food system currently in place or have we lost something we can't gain back? Director and concerned father Jeremy Seifert goes in search of answers. From his family's table to Haiti, Paris, Norway and the lobby of agra-giant Monsanto - from which he is unceremoniously ejected. Along the way he gains an insight into a question that is of growing concern to citizens the world over: what is really on your plate?
	Plastic Paradise Running time: 57 minutes \| USA \| Directed by Angela Sun EVERY single piece of plastic that has ever been created since the 19th century is still SOMEWHERE on our planet. So if it never goes away, where does it go? The invention of synthetic plastic created an era of disposable products. Watertight and endlessly malleable, plastic is the perfect invention yet, its miraculous durability is also its curse because it never goes away. In the early 21st Century, rumors about an island of garbage somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, started to rise. TV host and filmmaker ANGELA SUN, decided to investigate. Her journey takes her thousands of miles from human civilization. There, in what should be a remote tropical paradise, she discovers an ecosystem inundated by plastic waste.
	Revolution Running time: 1 hour 27 minutes \| USA \| Directed by Rob Stewart Revolution is an exhilarating and hard-hitting full length feature film from award-winning Sharkwater filmmaker Rob Stewart. Not only does it shed light on crucial environmental topics and how we can save the planet, but he shows how past world events have taught us what we need to do to save the future. Stewart met with renowned world experts who helped him find out about important issues affecting our lives. In an effort to uncover the secrets to a safer world, Stewart goes on an adventure filled with action and drama that will leave audiences around the world, at any age, inspired about how they can get involved in the fight to save our planet.