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Green Film Shooting: An incentivizing proposal

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- In Italy, the Trentino Film Fund is rewarding environmental sustainability in the film industry

Green Film Shooting: An incentivizing proposal

Italian actress Maria Roveran in Resina by Renzo Carbonera (© Antonio Rasi Caldogno)

In Trentino, filmmakers are actively being encouraged to go green. A production that implements several measures for best practices will receive additional financial support. The T-Green Film Rating System leaves it up to the producers how to adapt sustainable measures.

“We invested a lot of time and effort in developing the rating system so that it could be easily understood and applied by production companies”, explains Luca Ferrario, Manager of the Trentino Film Commission. The T-Green Film Rating System guides production companies in working towards a more environmentally friendly approach that also pays off financially. 

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The basis for green production is the Sustainability Plan that a Green Manager must develop during pre-production. The measures that may be adopted include the optimization of energy consumption, more efficient organization of transportation and accommodations, sustainable catering solutions, and the selection of reusable materials as well as appropriate waste management. “This process could be completed by adding a carbon calculator, which could provide precise data on the environmental impact of the production”, says Ferrario. 

Even without specific data, this program provides a win-win situation for the environment as well as for producers. They can estimate the amount of financial support for which they will be eligible before principal photography even begins. In most cases, adopting green practices on the set allows producers to contain some shooting expenses. 

Before the T-Green Film Rating System was launched, Resina, the first sustainably produced feature film by Italian-German writer-director Renzo Carbonera, had already started production. In this dramedy, a young musician returns from the big city to her small mountain village where she reunites a disbanded male choir. “We were able to adopt many green measures because of the support we received from the local community as well as from the Trentino Film Commission”, says the filmmaker, who was able to find all the locations in the same community. “It was not only convenient but also time and cost-effective to have our locations and accommodations located nearby. The lead actress’ hair and make-up was being done in her hotel room while the DoP was setting up the lighting about hundred meters away.” 

The production didn’t need a diesel generator because it used electricity right off the grid. “More than 80% of the energy in this community is water powered.” The local tourism office even provided the crew members with electric bikes. “We hardly used automobiles.” On the first day of the shoot, the director called the importance of green measures such as waste management and recycling to the attention of the cast and crew. “Most of our crew members were proud to be part of the first green production in Trentino”, reports Carbonera. 

Meanwhile, the T-Green Film Rating System is being studied by other regions in Italy as well as by film agencies abroad. “This system has great potential for enhancing practices on-set throughout Europe”, says Ferrario. “This is our formula: let’s provide clear rules; let producers decide how to adopt them; and let’s certify green practices and reward environmental sustainability in the film industry.” 

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