RIFF, Reykjavik International Film Festival wants to be at the forefront of cultural festivals with environmental protection and sustainability in its new strategy and changed emphases in work in collaboration with many of the festival's partners.
Among the things RIFF plans to do this year, to fulfill its strategic goals, is to reduce environmentally polluting travel with its partners, the car rental Hertz, the scooter rental JUMP and Bus bs and in printing materials with the printing house Isafold and with the use of t-shirts for staff and guests made from 100% cotton fabric. Trees will then be planted to carbon offset for every airline passenger who brings the festival home. Environmental policy is emphasis RIFF in collaboration with six other film festivals in Europe, and the festival's programs that promote environmental awareness have been strengthened.
Hertz is supporting the festival with electric cars that will be used to pick up foreign guests at Leif Eiríksson Airport. Jump provides festival staff with electric scooters to travel between locations and on the opening day of the festival, September 29, Hopp has decided to waive fees for those who use Hopp electric scooters to get to University Cinema to watch movies RIFF! Bus is also an important means of transportation for both RIFF staff and guests. Those who purchase a festival pass can travel free by bus during the festival.
„We encourage festival guests and film lovers to consider the environment in their travel habits and work with us on the policy. Foreign visitors also make a trip to Heiðmörk and pay Benedikt Erlingsson, director, a team in planting and cultivating a special film forest that is specifically established to reduce the environmental impact of the film industry, the idea is that part of it will be called The RIFF forest"," says Hronn Marinósdottir, manager of RIFF.
RIFF has also decided to reduce the use of printed materials such as programs and posters, utilizing environmentally friendly material and increase the use of electronic data. Our program this year is printed in fewer copies and on fewer pages than in previous years. The program is printed on environmentally friendly paper in collaboration with Nordic Ecolabel-certified printing house, IsafoldWe would like to remind you of the value of the brochure, don't take a copy to throw it away immediately in the trash – use it throughout the festival or lend it to others and help us with the green steps. The program will also be published in electronic form and will be available online and in the new RIFF app.
RIFF collaborates with six other film festivals in Europe, including Thessalonica Festival in Greece and TIFF, The Transylvanian Festival in Romania to work further on making film festivals environmentally friendly, and RIFF will host a workshop, presumably next year, for the staff of these seven festivals.
The festival's environmental awareness programs have also been strengthened. Over the years, RIFF has awarded awards for environmental protection but on Business days This year we are working specifically with the influence of the film industry on society and how documentary filmmakers can work in collaboration with different groups in society in order to increase the effect of their work. The countries of the North are at the forefront of climate change. Climate change has a huge impact on the entire world, as well as major social and economic consequences. Documentaries can help us better understand context and impact and help sharpen our attention. Through films, each story contributes to increased international understanding and awareness, foundation in the fight against climate change and its impacts. RIFF 2022 will showcase a series of influential documentaries about human rights and environmental issuesA symposium is also one of the festival's events this fall, where the contribution of filmmaking to environmental protection and human rights development is explored in a panel discussion, consisting of experts about these issues, scholars, fighters and filmmakers.
