Handle Climate Change Film Festival

We are absolutely elated to shout from the rooftops that our human shadow theatre performance “Save the Earth” won the prestigious Excellent Short award at the 2015 Handle Climate Change Film Festival (HCCFF) in Shenzhen, China! As the lone Ukrainian representative among a sea of 1,245 entries from 93 awe-inspiring countries and regions, we are over the moon that our important message resonated so powerfully.

When we first conceptualized bringing “Save the Earth” to life using shadow theatre set to Michael Jackson’s inspirational anthem, we could only dream that it would one day be recognized at such a trailblazing film festival. But here we are, pinching ourselves that the HCCFF jury selected our short film to be honored among just 49 incredible finalists. By the way, this is not the first participation in the film festival, our performance has already reached the final at the Grand IndieWise Convention.

Our small but mighty shadow theatre troupe poured our hearts and souls into crafting the stunning visuals and rousing musical performance of “Save the Earth.” Through the art of human shadow theatre, combined with a modern call to action against climate change, we hoped to move audiences to feel impassioned about protecting our precious planet. This award affirms that our creative vision sang loudly and clearly like a canary in a coal mine.

What makes this accolade particularly momentous is that HCCFF is the very first film festival in China dedicated wholly to exploring environmental topics and the climate crisis. We are deeper than honored that the festival’s inaugural jury deemed our short film deserving of recognition. “Save the Earth” will now be permanently etched in history as one of the first works to win at HCCFF, which is leading the charge in China to use film to educate and inspire change around sustainability.

The ripple effects of this fantastic award keep getting better, as HCCFF’s best works will be screened at the monumental UN Climate Change Conference in Paris this November. We are buzzing with excitement at the opportunity to share our urgent call to safeguard our planet with influential leaders and diplomats from around the world who are gathered to chart the course for a sustainable future.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to the visionary founders of the Handle Climate Change Film Festival for creating this special platform. And sincere congratulations to all of the incredibly talented filmmakers who took part in this year’s festival! As we celebrate this joyous honor, we feel more motivated than ever to continue using our unique art form of human shadow theatre to spread the message near and far that our Earth is worth saving. Bravo, HCCFF! Here’s to many more years of inspiring films and actions to protect our pale blue dot of a planet!