TEN YEARS OF FFC SUCCESS

Ten years ago a dedicated and passionate group of filmmakers with a concern for the environment and conservation founded FFC. In many ways the organisation was ahead of its time. A decade ago, whilst wildlife and nature productions were prolific, conservation and environment films were few and far between.  Times have changed. Avoiding dangerous climate change is the defining issue of the 21^st century and, through this lens, other conservation and environment issues are now gaining greater public exposure, particularly through films. FFC is proud that it has been at the forefront of thinking in environmental filmmaking for a decade – these are some of our initiatives.   

FFC Conservation Filmmakers Award

When FFC was created there were no conservation film awards. Now it is pleasing that virtually all film festivals have at least one conservation related award. FFC’s award remains unique as it doesn’t focus on the quality or budget of the film. The most important element remains the conservation outcomes resulting from the making and screening of the films.  FFC is proud to recognise and celebrate the achievements of those conservation filmmakers.

The Great Ape Film Initiative (GAFI)

Television viewers in the developed world are used to watching documentaries on new and fascinating discoveries in nature and often place a high value on the survival of species and eco-systems. Those living in rural areas in developing countries seldom have this opportunity. GAFI was set up to change all this and, with the help of the BBC, Granada, a host of volunteers and the continued lead from ex FFC co-president Madelaine Westwood it is managing to take films produced for major global network back to the communities in which they were shot.

FFC Fund

The FFC Fund was set up to help first time filmmakers who had already made a conservation film but needed that little extra help to finish off their project. FFC not only offered financial assistance but helped to mentor winners in the post production process. Fund recipients gained greater exposure for their film via FFCs members and the website. The first fund winners’ films focussed on environmental issues in South America and Indonesia.  

FFC Pitching

Using the wealth of FFC members’ talents FFC helped up and coming filmmakers to hone their pitches for their own project films. FFC professionals created a pool of people that worked with individual filmmakers on their treatments and scripts.

FFC Research

Every year FFC has quietly been helping students at all levels around the world to write their theses and essays. Through the years we have had a steady trickle of members who have been researching the connections between wildlife documentaries and conservation. This has allowed us to create a small library of research, which continues to grow, in the area of the effectiveness of conservation films.

FFC Code of Ethics

From the outset one of the goals of FFC was to foster an ethical relationship between the filmmaker/videographer and the natural world. The "FFC Guiding Principles" are guidelines that each FFC member implicitly endorses. FFC members recognise that the welfare of an animal is more important than the sequence; that they have a responsibility to ensure that nothing they do could reasonably be considered cruel; and that they should not have a detrimental effect on the ecological integrity of the ecosystem they are working in. FFC members aim to portray authentic and accurate, natural behaviour in their work.

FFC Code of Best Practice in Sustainable Filmmaking

In 2008 FFC worked with the American University in Washington DC to develop the Code of Best Practice in Sustainable Filmmaking. While there were already ‘green’ filmmaking guides available, few, maybe none, were developed through detailed research or submitted to peer review. Thanks to support from The Ford Foundation and WWF UK, authors Larry Engel and Andrew Buchanan, both FFC members, were able to research and write the Code and put it through the review process. The principles in the Code are the basis on which checklists and carbon trackers were developed to help filmmakers reduce their carbon emissions and their damage to the environment.

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