Green Screening Days - Friday 16th April 2027

A Few Minutes for the Planet
Student filmmaking competition

After a very successful first year, registration is now open for the 2026/2027 A Few Minutes for the Planet competition aimed at students interested in creating stories to raise awareness about the environment, and to encourage positive change.

The competition is open to student filmmakers from around the UK, and is supported by BAFTA albert Education Partnership and the Green Film School Alliance (GFSA). Entries must address the pressing issues of the Nature and Climate Crises, and must be produced using environmentally sustainable production protocols.

  • Film length: 1 min - 2 mins 30 secs
  • Registration deadline: Friday 30th October 2026
  • Film Submission deadline: Friday 29th January 2027
  • Teams must be made up of students and/or recent alumni of - NAHEMI member institutions

Sustainable filmmaking frameworks available to students include the open-access PEACHy framework (Production Environmental Actions Checklist for Young filmmakers) supported by the GFSA, through which they will be able to obtain an EMA Green Seal, and the BAFTA albert Education Partnership protocol (available to those who are members).

Panel Discussion Winners Panel Discussion

The Brief

Your film can address any area which is considered important in combating climate change. Films might examine how society is dealing with green issues, or suggest new ways of acting in an environmentally friendly way to make a better world, or even present innovative filmmaking approaches that reduce the environmental impact and carbon emissions of production.

For inspiration we offer some suggested areas of focus, but films are not limited to these topics.

Transport

What are the alternative options to our current modes of transport, which are dependent on fossil fuels? Can we change the technologies and offer cheap and better public travel options?

Urban nature & tree planting

Urban nature is vital for clean air, cooling, and biodiversity. Green spaces improve mental health, and community well-being, and more trees, parks and gardens can reduce pollution and heat. Where are these green spaces in our cities, and how can we make them flourish? What benefits might a programme of tree planting bring?

Pollution

How can we reduce air, water, and land pollution? Our current systems rely on single-use plastics, fossil fuels, intensive farming, and so on. What better alternative methods can we employ to enable a functioning yet greener society?

Greenwashing

Some companies use marketing tactics that mislead the public about their environmental impact. How do we recognise these? How can we inform the public, and stop this from happening?

Climate Justice

How can we find solutions to the climate crisis that not only reduce emissions or protect the natural world, but that do so in a way which creates a fairer, more just and equal world in the process?

Imagine positive green futures

Be bold and inventive and have some fun; show us how we can do better and build a future for us and the planet, no matter how big or small the initiatives might be.

 

Your Film

Your film must be a minimum of 1 minute and up to 2 minutes 30 seconds in length (including titles), and must address an environmental issue such as - but not limited to - those outlined in The Brief.

We are looking for imaginative and creative productions in any genre. This could be comedy, animation, documentary, live-action, drama, or essay film. It can be serious, funny, or absurd. Films can use graphics, special effects, or archival material, but must have all copyright clearance and evidence available on request.

Here are some examples of short, impactful and funny environmental films for inspiration:

Technical specifications

  • File format: mp4 or MOV
  • Resolution: 1080p or higher for delivery
  • Frame rate: 24fps or 30fps
  • Open with a simple black-and-white title card
  • Close with University logo and full credits

 

Registration - by 30th October 2026

Filmmakers must all be either students at a NAHEMI institution at the time of registration, or recent alumni of a NAHEMI institution (having graduated within the last year), and must have a named tutor as a point of contact and referee.

You are not required to pitch a specific idea, but registration will be taken as a commitment to entering the competition, and a completed film submission will be expected from those listed on the registration form.

You will NOT be able to submit a film without having registered for the competition. To enter A Few Minutes for the Planet, please complete the online Registration Form.

The deadline for Registration is Friday 30th October 2026

If you have any questions, please email chair@nahemi.org or info@ukgreenfilm.net

 

Film Submission - by 29th January 2027

Your film must be submitted via FilmFreeway at the following link: https://filmfreeway.com/AFewMinutesforthePlanet

The deadline for Film Submission is Friday 29th January 2027

 

Prizes

There are four awards on offer:

Additionally, film exhibition opportunities will be made available through the UK Green Film Network, with selected short films playing before relevant feature-length environmental films around the UK.

There will also be opportunities to network with other filmmakers and with cinemas working in environmental exhibition.

 

Gala Event - on 23rd April 2027

Shorlisted films will be shown at a gala event at The Garden Cinema in London on Friday 23rd April 2027. Awards of prizes donated by The Sundance Institute, the UK Green Film Network and NAHEMI will also be presented.

Filmmakers and production crews will be invited to present their films and to discuss their innovative approaches to storytelling and green production methods to an audience of filmmakers, tutors, educators, industry leaders and green campaigners.

 

Resources

Below are some tools to support you with sustainable filmmaking techniques, including ways to lower the carbon footprint of filmmaking across multiple production departments.

While these tools may be useful, you should remember to use the PEACHy framework to achieve an EMA Green Seal or albert framework to have their film albert certified.

NAHEMI institutions signed up to BAFTA albert's Education Partnership are encouraged to use the framework and skills taught in the module, and are especially encouraged to seek the Education Partnership Production Logo for their productions.

NAHEMI institutions who do not have access to albert are encouraged to explore case studies, methodology and to use BAFTA albert's "Where to Get Started with Sustainable Filmmaking Guide" as an introduction.

 

A Few Minutes for the Planet 2025/2026

Thursday 23rd April 2026 saw the inaugural screening of A Few Minutes for the Planet at the The Garden Cinema in London. With a panel discussion, film screenings and award presentations to winning students, this was a wonderful celebration of the future of green filmmaking.

Winners

  • Engineers of Wildwood (University of the Arts, London) - NAHEMI Best Green Production Methods
  • Fairytales of the Future (University of Bournemouth) - GFSA Sundance Award, Excellence in Fiction
  • Save Our Seas (University of the West of England) - UK Green Network, Best Environmental Messaging
  • Grass Routes (London College of Communication) - GFSA Sundance Award, Excellence in Non-Fiction

Winners
Winners
Winners
Winners

The Panel

  • Abla Kandalaft - programmer and exhibitor at The Garden Cinema
  • Daisy Leigh-Phippard - Education and Training Officer for BAFTA albert
  • Harry Tomlin and Emma-Louse Howell - environmental filmmakers
  • Muriel Tinel-Temple - Senior Lecturer in Film at University of Roehampton
  • Mark Morgan - Director of the UK Green Film Network

Panel Discussion
Panel Discussion

A Thank You

We would like to thank all the students and tutors who gave their time to making such inspiring films, and to Harry Tomlin for allowing us to screen his film You Told Us to Talk About the Weather.