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Review: Sustainable Film School Day

For the second time, the ‘Sustainable Film School Day’ took place during the Berlinale 2025 on 21 February under the auspices of the Film University Babelsberg. Organised by the Sustainability Office for Teaching and the Erasmus+ cooperation project Green Education in Media (GEM), this year’s event was hosted at the Mediadesign University of Applied Sciences in Berlin. The event was aimed at representatives of film and media universities from various countries. The focus was on international exchange about the role of educational institutions in the transformation towards a more socially and environmentally just film industry.

All pictures by: Pascal Lehmann

The day began with participants checking in and enjoying a hot coffee with oat milk. With a stage, an area with group tables for later group work, and a cosy sofa corner, the room was perfectly prepared for all items on the agenda.

After a welcome from the organisers Maike Reinerth (Sustainability Office of the Film University), Prof. Dr. Björn Stockleben (Film University) and Frank Ringwald (Mediadesign University), presentations began, during which various international experts and university representatives shared their perspectives on sustainable teaching and green production practices. Prof. Dr. Björn Stockleben presented current developments from the GEM project. He emphasised the need to seek out natural learning locations in the field of media studies and to develop appropriate teaching methods, such as the ‘nature walks’ frequently used in GEM. Małgorzata Kotlińska explained how sustainability is implemented in student productions at the Lodz Film School in Poland. An important insight for the students was that sustainability encompasses a series of often small-scale measures, each of which often involves overcoming specific minor hurdles. Joe Lockwood from the PACESETTERS initiative illustrated how sustainability can be explored artistically in a holistic way in the context of a rural village as a laboratory. 

Nihan Gider Işikman from Başkent University Ankara gave an impressive presentation on how she integrated a comprehensive sustainability concept into the media sector at her university within just three years. Kent Hayward from the Green Film School Alliance spoke about ideas and solutions for promoting green film practices in the USA and the role of film schools in establishing sustainability as a value in the film industry.
 

After the presentations, there was a lunch break with delicious sandwiches and pretzels, which was also used for networking, follow-up discussions and new impressions. 
In the afternoon, several round-table discussions took place at various tables, in which specific topics were explored in depth, led by the previous speakers and external guests such as Sandra Hacker from Dortmund University of Applied Sciences, green consultant Katja Klausner, and the Filmuni Awareness Team Sandra Julia Reils, Deborah Walkling and Juri Pokorny. The focus was on the integration of sustainability into curricula, how film schools can support students in complying with ecological standards, curricula for green storytelling, the international harmonisation of sustainability standards, an exchange of experiences of best practices in the field of green student productions, and social sustainability in cross-disciplinary and university projects. At the end of the day, the moderators summarised the results of the various discussion rounds for reflection in the plenary session. The focus was on important next steps for sustainable teaching and possible future collaborations between the participants. 
The event provided a valuable platform for the intensive exchange of ideas and good practices in the field of sustainable film teaching and strengthened the networking between various educational institutions and experts.