The first “heroes” of Sardegna Green are 7 shorts with a budget of around 20,000 Euros each, the winners of the Heroes 20.20.20 competition which, thanks to the collaboration of the Fondazione Sardegna Film Commission, the Energy Service of the Region’s Industry Department and Sardegna Ricerche, have been given funding to talk about best prac- tices for energy savings and efficiency, and the various types of sustainability that represent the excellence of Sardinia, all using different styles and genres.
“La Mossa giusta” by Davide Melis and Emanuel Cossu (the latter wrote the screenplay) looks at saving energy through a mysterious game of chess that the protagonist is playing at home on a dark afternoon during a power cut caused by the poor management of domestic appliances. It is produced by Karel, an independent theatrical and television production company set up in Cagliari in 1997.
An inefficient home also provides the setting for “Ogni cosa al suo posto” by Paolo Zucca, a short that came from an advertising idea (Zucca also works in advertising, using a lot of metaphorical language), to be produced by Ombre Rosse Film Production. In this case, however, the theme is separate waste collection: the story is about a man who wakes up one morning to go to work and, in the course of his everyday routine, in a surreal escalation, realizes that everything is out of place: there is a screwdriver where his toothbrush should be, he opens the fridge to find there are books inside it, there is a fish in the drawer instead of his car keys, he looks out of the window and a boat has taken the place of his car …
In the end he realizes that, in the separate waste container, there is a can where moist items should be: he moves it, opens the refrigerator and order is restored.
Water and electricity wastage, the consumption of non-0 Km food, a lack of respect for the environment, cumbersome refuse left in the middle of the road: four situations for four adult couples who behave in a non-environmentally friendly way. This is the starting point for “Piccoli grandi eroi”, a three minute short with music and off-screen voice, produced and directed by Giorgia Soi at the end of March.
At one point,the characters,with their catatonic looks symbolizing a lack of awareness, are attracted by the sound of a wind blade and start walking, each holding their ‘object of transgression’ (a plastic bottle, for example) until they come to a time-space tunnel. As they pass through the tunnel they find themselves becoming children again and enter the city of children where their ‘object’ is recycled. The message is that the child living within each one of us knows the right thing to do.
Francesco’s journey, on the other hand, is one from boy to man.
He is the protagonist of the docudrama “Casa mia”, that includes some 3D animated inserts, the theme of which is the home.
We see Francesco as a child, in the 50s, in an isolated land which is still linked to the customs of the countryside, who then grows into an adult, living through the rapid development process that has led us to the present day, making him the bearer of change at a time when progress has opened up different paths. Remaining in contact with natural elements, from which he drew inspiration even at an early age, as an adult Francesco discovers new employment opportunities, meets people moving in the same direction as him and gets involved in activities aimed at improving materials and home energy efficiency, as well as a search for natural methods and materials that help people “feel good” at home. Directed and produced by Alberto Masala, together with Giuseppe Cosseddu (video drone operator) and Pascal Pintori (video operator, technical manager) for Sky Survey System, the movie will also feature the use of innovative filming tools and equipment such as drones and a power supply system that can provide energy through accumulators charged by a small solar panel, with practically zero CO2 emissions and easy to transport on set.
“Sei tu il nostro eroe” is a stop motion animated short that combines the cut out technique with puppet making, using recycled materials. The protagonist is an old olive tree that recounts the legendary exploits of a mysterious hero who, through simple everyday gestures, saves the forest and its inhabitants. Directed by Michela Anedda with Erica Floris, the short is produced by Cooperativa Gea Ambiente & Turismo, with a contribution of 16,300 Euros.
Another animation (by Etienne Friess) is “Il mio Cane si chiama Vento”, directed by Peter Marcias, a short with a dreamlike finale, the protagonist of which is Andrea, a boy mourning the death of his dog who begins to smile again when, along with a stray dog that has befriended him, he manages to free all the dogs from the pound: their running will produce the movement of a number of gigantic wind blades. Written by Marco Porru, the short will be produced by Camillo Esposito for Capetown Film.
“Urban Bikers in Cagliari”, directed by Marilisa Piga, is about sustainable mobility. With the pace of a road movie, it follows the urban bike messengers who have been operating in Cagliari since November 2013. Their professional activity falls within the sphere of sustainability known in Europe as “cycle-logistics”, and represents an innovation on the city traffic scene. The film, produced by Claudio Giapponesi for Kinè, follows the work of the bikers and aims to highlight their business and special mobility, comparing it to the traditional polluting methods that are increasingly suffocating the urban environment.
