SINGAPORE (July 16, 2018) – Sony Pictures Television Networks (SPTN), in partnership with the United Nations Foundation, today announced that Singaporean filmmaker Wally Tham, and Malaysian filmmaker Mark Lee are the Asia finalists of the Picture This Festival for the Planet (www.sonypicturethis.com), a worldwide short-film competition for filmmakers to showcase the positive future they see for our planet.
Tham’s short film, Sayang Kalimantan, is a compelling insight into the 2015 forest fires that devastated Kalimantan in Indonesia. Tham and his team spent two years in Kalimantan designing and building Indonesia’s first functioning haze shelter, while documenting the arduous journey that the local residents experienced.
Lee’s short film, Mr. Garbage, tells the story of Chua Hock Boon, an electrician and Loh Keat Geok, an environmentalist, who work tirelessly to recycle the mountain loads of garbage that have accumulated for generations in their hometown, Ketam Island, a small fishing village located off the coast of Port Klang, Selangor.
Tham and Lee are two of eight regional finalists from around the world who will receive a Sony RX0 camera and a trip for two to Los Angeles, where they will attend the Picture This Festival For the Planet at the Sony Pictures Studios lot on July 31. On this day, the regional finalists will meet with Sony Pictures executives from the television and the motion picture group, followed by an evening event exploring how stories can promote a better world through the lens of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). All regional finalists’ films will be screened and a winner will be announced at the event.
Visit www.sonypicturethis.com to watch all eight regional finalists’ videos.
Entries for the Picture This Festival for the Planet opened in January, with aspiring filmmakers and environmentalists from over 70 countries submitting videos between one and eight minutes in length. Each submission was inspired by the Sustainable Development Goals, a set of global goals agreed upon by all 193 member states of the United Nations to end poverty, protect the planet and promote prosperity for all.
Partners in this year’s festival are: the United Nations Foundation, the United Nations Association of the United States of America, WeTransfer, Sony World Photography Awards, Sony Alpha Universe, the Environmental Media Association, Connect4Climate and leaders and environmental visionaries from around the globe.
In addition to internationally renowned musical artist and the judge of Asia’s Got Talent, Anggun and YouTube sensations Damon and Jo, the list of celebrity advocates and industry leaders who will judge film submissions includes: Megan Boone, environmental advocate and actress from the hit TV series “The Blacklist”; Elizabeth Cousens, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, United Nations Foundation; Mr. N.P. Singh, MD & CEO, Sony Pictures Networks India; Marie Jacobson, EVP Programming & Production, Sony Pictures Television Networks; Tom Bernard & Michael Barker, Co-Presidents, Sony Pictures Classics; Glenn Gainor, President of Physical Production, Screen Gems; Brett King, Vice President, Creative Programming, Diversity & Inclusion, Sony Pictures Entertainment; Tetsuya Bessho, actor, Founder and President, Short Shorts Film Festival; Debbie Levin, President & CEO, Environmental Media Association; and Damian Bradfield, President and Chief Marketing Officer, WeTransfer.
The Picture This Festival for the Planet is Sony Pictures Entertainment’s latest project to bring awareness to the SDGs. In 2016, the United Nations and SPE launched Angry Birds for a Happy Planet, a global youth outreach campaign that leveraged online and social media platforms to encourage action to protect the planet and fight climate change. Centered on the Sustainable Development Goal #13 – to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts, the campaign featured Red and other characters of The Angry Birds Movie. In 2017, supported by the cast of the Smurfs: The Lost Village, audiences were encouraged to join “Team Smurfs” for the “Small Smurfs Big Goals” campaign that inspired everyone to learn about and support the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
About Sony Pictures Television Networks
Sony Pictures Television Networks operates branded entertainment channels reaching nearly two billion subscribers around the world. Based in Culver City, Amsterdam, Budapest, London, Madrid, Miami, Milan, Moscow, Mumbai, Munich, Singapore and Tokyo, Sony’s linear and digital networks offer high quality film and television content from Sony Pictures and third-parties, as well as original content commissioned globally and locally. Sony Pictures Television Networks is a division of Sony Pictures Television Inc., a Sony Pictures Entertainment company.
About United Nations Foundation
The United Nations Foundation builds public-private partnerships to address the world’s most pressing problems, and broadens support for the United Nations through advocacy and public outreach. Through innovative campaigns and initiatives, the Foundation connects people, ideas, and resources to help the UN solve global problems. The Foundation was created in 1998 as a U.S. public charity by entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner and now is supported by philanthropic, corporate, government, and individual donors. Learn more at: http://www.unfoundation.org.
About WeTransfer
WeTransfer is the simplest way to send your files around the world. Every month, well over 40 million active users transfer over one billion files. The service is all about making the creative process effortless, for everyone. Since 2009 we have been showcasing amazing creative work on WeTransfer with gratis advertising for musicians, photographers, and artists, giving away over five billion pages a year. We also offer financial grants, tech support and promotion to help creatives tell the stories that matter to them and bring relevant cultural projects to life. Above all, we hope these stories encourage other people to make something new themselves. Because inspiration means more when you do something with it. www.wetransfer.com
About Environmental Media Association
The Environmental Media Association (EMA) is a Non-Profit 501(c)3 organization founded in 1989 to inspire solutions for the environment through our impact in media and pop culture. The organization has grown into a diverse subsection of entertainment industry tastemakers, entrepreneurs in finance and technology, and green icons dedicated to the mission of promoting environmental progress and innovations through celebrity role modeling, campaign work, year-round programs and our two large scale annual events, The EMA Awards and the EMA Impact Summit. EMA serves as a valuable link between the world of media and the environmental community. To find out more about our programs and events visit us at www.green4ema.org.
About Connect4Climate
Connect4Climate is a global partnership program launched by the World Bank Group and the Italian Ministry of Environment, joined by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, that takes on climate change by promoting solutions and empowering people to act. The Connect4Climate community brings together more than 450 partners around the world including civil society groups, media networks, international organizations, academic institutions, youth groups, and the private sector.
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For further information, please contact:
Jarieul Wong
Sony Pictures Television Networks, Asia
Jarieul_Wong@spe.sony.com
+65 9188 3227