Indonesia 1st film festival on disaster risk reduction

Eleven short films on disaster risk reduction have been selected for competition in the first Asian Film Festival on Disaster Risk Reduction which will take place at the Fifth Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction next week in Yogyakarta, Indonesia between 22 Oct and 25 Oct. The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) and the Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management (BNBP), which are the main organisers of the film competition, received more than 47 entries from Malaysia, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Korea, China and Indonesia. The films, mainly produced by Asian NGOS and disaster management organisations were selected by a Film Festival Committee set up by BNBP according to three main categories: Category one: The best Disaster Risk Reduction story,Category two: The best Disaster Risk Reduction human interest story and Category three: The best Disaster Risk Reduction investigative story. The 11 nominees are Four films nominated for the best Disaster Risk Reduction Story: "Takbir Gempa/The Voices of the Earthquake" from Indonesia, "A Time for Action" from Malaysia, "Toward Resilience -- Story of Climate Change Frontier" from Bangladesh and "Special Task Call" from China. Films nominated for the best Human Interest Story are "Kazol on the Flood" from Bangladesh, "Cerita Sahabat/Tale of Friends" from Indonesia and "Do you Hear Me" from Sri Lanka. The four films nominated for the best Disaster Risk Reduction Investigative Story are "Krakatau Sang Legenda/ The Legend of Krakatau" from Indonesia, "Memories of a Summer Day 2012" from the Republic of Korea, "A Home of One's Own" from India, "Durjorge Durjory/The Invincible Bangladesh -- A History of Disaster Management" from Bangladesh. A jury composed of three members: Benny Benke, Indonesian film director and journalist; Sutopo Purwo, Head of Communications, BNBP; and Brigitte Leoni, UNISDR, will select the winning films in each of the three categories. An announcement will be made at the closing ceremony of the Fifth Asian Ministerial Conference on 25 October. "The jury is very pleased by the diversity and originality of the films that were submitted. Disaster risk reduction is a complex but rich field for film makers given the rise of extreme weather events and the global impact of climate change. Film-makers can do a lot to educate the public and to provide new insights into how communities can build resilience to disasters," said Brigitte Leoni, UNISDR Regional Communication Officer for Asia.