SunChild International Environmental Festival

The SunChild 12th International Environmental Festival will take place from the 13th to the 18th of October 2023, screening over 40 newest best environmental films from all around the world. On a planet that faces complex issues that threaten to tear us apart, we hope to provide a platform to find the connection to sustain life․ SunChild IEF is a celebration of nature, creating space for people to come together, learn and create solutions.

About the Festival

SunChild International Environmental Festival, established by the Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets (FPWC), is the first and the only environmental festival in the South Caucasus region. More than 780 films from 150 countries of the world were screened over the last 15 years of existence. The film festival includes various activities such as carnival marches, dozens of workshops, conferences, and exhibitions. Besides being rich in content, all events are eye-catching due to their colorful and unique approaches. The festival travels in the regions of Armenia throughout the whole year, involving a large number of children and youth, facilitating identification and creative solutions to community environmental issues by organizing thematic film screenings, discussions, and other initiatives, and encouraging and supporting taking action locally. The festival aims to bring nature, wildlife, and the environment into the focus of public attention and increase knowledge about issues among citizens and especially among children and youth.

Theme: Biodiversity: The Fabric of Life

Each year SunChild IEF highlights different environmental topics to raise awareness and become a platform for discussion. For the 12th edition of the festival, we chose Biodiversity Conservation as a central theme, and all our events will any way or another unveil the complex nature of biodiversity conservation challenges in Armenia, the South Caucasus Region, and the world. Biodiversity is the rich tapestry of life on Earth, a canvas of diverse forms and colors. Conserving it is crucial for maintaining the balance and stability of our ecosystems. But this tapestry is under threat by habitat destruction, pollution, over-exploitation, and climate change. Our responsibility is to protect vulnerable species, and habitats, and implement sustainable practices. By raising awareness, we can ensure this tapestry remains vibrant for future generations.

SunChild 12th International Environmental Festival has 4 nominations

• Feature-length Documentaries about Biodiversity Conservation

This program is dedicated to promoting public awareness of Biodiversity Conservation stories, issues, and challenges in the world. Conserving Biodiversity is crucial for maintaining the balance and stability of our ecosystems. Our responsibility is to protect vulnerable species, and habitats, and implement sustainable practices.
Documentaries released after the 30th of July, 2022 are welcome to be submitted for this competition.
The film may run between 60 minutes and 3 hours. To have a longer film considered, please contact SunChild IEF.

• Short Films about Biodiversity conservation

This program is dedicated to promoting public awareness of Biodiversity Conservation stories, issues, and challenges in the world.
Short films of any genre released after the 30th of July, 2022 are welcome to be submitted for this competition. The film may be 5-45 minutes in length.

• Youth and Children about Environmental Conservation

Films about environmental issues made by children and youth, released after January 1, 2022. Age range: 10-25 years.

• John Burton Conservation Award: Films about Conservationists

Films about Conservationists from all around the world.
Named after conservationist John Burton, this award will spotlight films about nature conservation with a strong directorial vision.
With this award, SunChild IEF wants to honor the memory of John Burton, who died in May 2022.
The award will be granted to the best conservation films about individuals, who strive to make a change in the world. John Burton was a revolutionary, visionary, and inspirational conservationist whose creative thinking saved over 300,000 hectares of threatened habitat from damaging development. He challenged the usual approaches to preserving wild creatures and their habitats. Sir David Attenborough described him as “a truly wonderful man, more altruistic, more energetic, braver and more original than almost anyone I have known.”
Films released after the 1st of January, 2022 are welcome to be submitted for this competition.

And Non-Competition Films’ Section for the Educational/Informational program.
In this Non-Competition Program, we welcome films about environmental issues and challenges from all around the world.
Films of any genre released after the 1st of January, 2022 are welcome to be submitted for this competition.
The film may run between 30 minutes and 2 hours. To have a longer film considered, please contact SunChild IEF.