Hilton Worldwide and Sundance Institute announced today the winners of the newly launched LightStay Sustainability Award program, which includes $25,000 for a feature film about the president of the Maldives – a Pacific Island nation threatened by rising sea levels
Hilton Worldwide and Sundance Institute announced today the winners of the newly launched LightStay Sustainability Award program, which includes $25,000 for a feature film about the president of the Maldives – a Pacific Island nation threatened by rising sea levels associated with climate change.
The 2012 LightStay Sustainability Award winners were chosen out of 1,500 feature-length documentaries and more than 5,000 short film entries submitted to the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program. The winning films showcase the connections between sustainability, economic growth and community development. The award winners are:
- The Island President (Feature): President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives is confronting a problem greater than any other world leader has ever faced – the literal survival of his country and everyone in it. As one of the most low-lying countries in the world, a rise of in sea level would submerge the 1200 islands enough to make them uninhabitable. A classic David and Goliath tale, The Island President captures Nasheed’s first year in office, culminating in his trip to the Copenhagen Climate Summit where the film provides an unprecedented glimpse of what takes place at such a top-level global assembly. A movie about one man’s mission to save his nation, The Island President, is a riveting, uplifting story that is impossible to ignore. Director: Jon Shenk
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Solar Mamas (In-Process Feature Film) – Three tenacious grandmothers leave their respective remote villages in Africa and the Middle East on a quest to India’s Barefoot College to learn more about solar engineering and acquire new skills that they can take back to their home lands in an effort to combat the energy crisis. Directors: Jehane Noujaim and Mona Eldaief
Hilton Worldwide will screen The Island President at a special private event during the Sundance Film Festival next week. A Q&A session with director Jon Shenk will follow the screening. The Island President will be released by Samuel Goldwyn Films on March 28th.
Last month, Hilton Worldwide announced its support of Sundance Institute, a global, nonprofit organization dedicated to the discovery and development of independent artists and audiences in film and theater, and launched the Hilton Worldwide LightStay Sustainability Award program. The partnership supports the Institute’s Documentary Film Program and awards grants to up to five documentary film projects focusing on sustainability issues.
LightStay represents Hilton Worldwide's overarching commitment to integrate sustainability into every guest experience, which the company says is critical to the long-term success of its business.
Bart King is a PR consultant and principal at Cleantech Communications.
Published Jan 20, 2012 2pm EST / 11am PST / 7pm GMT / 8pm CET
Bart King is the founder and principal at New Growth Communications. He specializes in helping sustainability leaders develop thought leadership content and strategy