NUTV promotes environmentalism in art

By Tobias Ma

NUTV will be hosting a gala for their third annual Greenlite Arts Festival on April 3 at 7 p.m. in the Gallery Hall of the Taylor Family Digital Library. Greenlite is an 
environmentalism-themed festival of film and photography.


The festival has two major components: a film and a photo contest. The film portion, known as the 48-Hour Eco Film Challenge, begins on March 22 at 4 p.m. 


For the challenge, teams are given a prop and a line of dialogue that they must use to create a film in 48 hours. Seventeen teams have registered for the competition.


Taylor Ross, NUTV’s executive director, is lending equipment, advice and support to contestants. 


“You really don’t have to have any experience with film-making,” explains Ross.


The parametres of the film competition are open-ended, as long as competitors stick to environmental themes.


“It can be obscure, it can be up front, it’s all about how the team wants to incorporate the prop and line of dialogue they are given,” says Ross. “Some people go all out with the prop and use it as the central theme of the film, and others have it appear in a shot and then move on.”


The photography contest is also flexible, asking for any kind of photos that fall within the theme of environmentalism.


“We leave the [contest] entirely open, up to the photographer’s interpretation,” says Ross. 


The best photos submitted to the contest will be displayed at the Greenlite gala in the TFDL. 


Ross hopes that the festival will stimulate interest in the environment and visual arts.


“We hope it gives students the opportunity to speak about issues they have within the global scheme of things and a chance to learn new skills like editing or new film-making techniques,” she says. “We hope everyone comes out with a finished product they can be happy with.”


Deadlines to enter the film and photo contests were March 15, however late photo entries may be accepted if submitted before the gala.