Sony Pictures Television Networks (SPTN), working with the United Nations Foundation, has launched the Picture This Festival for the Planet. The short-film competition encourages emerging filmmakers, storytellers, and changemakers globally to share their visions for a positive future for the planet.
Representing over 70 countries, participants are invited to submit videos inspired by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs are a collection of global goals adopted by the United Nations to address poverty, protect the planet, and promote prosperity for everyone.
In mid-2018, eight regional winners will be awarded a trip to Los Angeles to participate in the Picture This Festival for the Planet. The event includes networking and training opportunities with industry leaders and social impact partners at Sony Pictures Studio, followed by a screening of the winning films. Winners will receive airfare, accommodations in Los Angeles for two nights, a Sony RX0 Camera, and a one-year WeTransfer Plus account. The grand prize winner will receive a Sony A6500 camera and a SEL1670 lens. Additionally, in Asia, the first 100 accepted entries will receive a one-year WeTransfer Plus account valued at US$120 each.
Andy Kaplan, President of Sony Pictures Television Networks, expressed pride in Sony’s support of storytelling and innovation, and excitement in leading the Picture This initiative. He emphasized their goal of highlighting these crucial development objectives through the voices of emerging artists and recognizing their valuable contributions.
SPTN previously held a similar contest in 2016 across its global channel portfolio, encompassing its flagship brands in Asia (AXN, Sony Channel, GEM, ONE, and Animax). These channels will also participate in this year’s festival.
The panel of judges, including Kaplan, includes Megan Boone (environmental advocate and actress from the TV series The Blacklist), Elizabeth Cousens (Deputy CEO of the United Nations Foundation), Marie Jacobson (EVP Programming & Production at Sony Pictures Television Networks), Tom Bernard & Michael Barker (Co-Presidents of Sony Pictures Classics), NP Singh (MD & CEO of Sony Pictures Networks India), Glenn Gainor (President of Physical Production at Screen Gems), Debbie Levin (President & CEO of the Environmental Media Association), and Damian Bradfield (President and Chief Marketing Officer of WeTransfer).
Cousens highlighted the Picture This Festival for the Planet as a groundbreaking platform for connecting audiences worldwide to the grassroots efforts of individuals implementing the SDGs in their daily lives. She expressed gratitude for Sony’s dedication to sustainability and leveraging its creativity and reach to promote the SDGs to wider audiences. By celebrating individual stories of global citizens actively working to protect people and the planet, Picture This aims to inspire others to join the movement towards achieving these ambitious yet achievable goals.
As a division of Sony Pictures Television Inc., which is a Sony Pictures Entertainment company, Sony Pictures Television Networks is committed to promoting sustainability. The Picture This Festival for the Planet is Sony Pictures Entertainment’s latest initiative to raise awareness for the SDGs. Previous projects include the 2016 launch of Angry Birds for a Happy Planet, a global youth outreach campaign developed in partnership with the United Nations. This campaign utilized online and social media platforms to encourage action towards protecting the planet and fighting climate change. Focusing on Sustainable Development Goal No. 13 (to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts), the campaign featured Red and other characters from The Angry Birds Movie. In 2017, with support from the cast of Smurfs: The Lost Village, the Small Smurfs Big Goals campaign encouraged audiences to learn about and support the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
The contest welcomes submissions from residents of Brunei, Cambodia, mainland China, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, and Taiwan. Accepting both fiction and non-fiction films across a variety of genres (new or existing), video submissions should be between one and eight minutes in length. Submissions for the Picture This Festival for the Planet will be accepted until April 30, 2018. Entry is free.
To learn more, watch the video introducing the Picture This Festival for the Planet.