Film festivals are well known for their award-winning movie screenings and often picturesque outdoor settings. This year’s CEC Student Film Festival sought to promote another aspect of film – its ability to share important messages.
Held on March 22, the Citizens Environmental Council, or CEC, of Burlingame collaborated with Burlingame High School’s environmental club to host their fifth annual Student Film Festival. They welcomed students from grades K-12 residing in San Mateo County to create short films educating viewers about topics relating to the environment. The mission? To “spread awareness of various environmental concerns and promote sustainable habits,” as stated on the Burlingame Film Fest website.
Their efforts were not lost – Lian Wang, a current freshman at San Mateo High School, heard about the film festival through a climate organization she was participating in at the time. Although originally intending to just try it out, Wang’s short video, “How Consumer Culture Drives Climate Change,” ended up being selected as the finalist of the high school category. Included along with the award was a hefty $150 cash prize and media coverage, to a certain extent.
But why discuss consumer culture, among the various pressing matters contributing to the climate crisis? We interviewed the winning filmmaker herself to find out.
“I actually burned through like four topics before settling on overconsumption… The idea of overconsumption came from a response I wrote to a question about issues facing today’s people, where I said that consumerism and material comfort was unhealthy,” states Wang on the inspiration for her winning film. “I hope that my film brings awareness to other people, because consumerism has quite a long history, and is actually pretty complicated!”
The film was revealed and screened live to the audience at the festival, which was held in-person this year at the Burlingame High School Auditorium. After the declaration of the winning students, filmmakers also participated in a Q&A session with attendees. A wide variety of films were presented as well, ranging from an animated video on nuclear energy to short video-essay recordings. Later, local environmental leaders made appearances, including a talk delivered by the San Mateo County Supervisor, Dave Pine.
The educational experience went both ways as well. Not only did the festival serve as an opportunity for both students interested in cinematography to demonstrate their aspirations and for youth passionate about environmental advocacy to make their voices heard, but also allowed the audiences to gain new perspectives on the subject.
“I think it is a wonderful opportunity for San Mateo students to practice their filmmaking skills in a meaningful way. Using this platform to spread the word about local and global environmental issues is a brilliant way to raise awareness and provide young filmmakers with an idea or inspiration” says Ms. Stephanie Wozniak, a Cinema and Society teacher and mentor of the student film club at San Mateo High School. Besides the film festival, there are many other ways to educate yourself about the threats of the climate crisis and the factors contributing to it that we as a society can work to take control of. News outlets and media platforms combined offer a wide variety of similarly digestible content. But for now, those looking for a brief yet informative way to learn about such topics can watch Wang’s winning film, “How Consumer Culture Drives Climate Change,” available on YouTube.