EarthX Announces Winners of Youth Film Challenge, Expands Youth Offerings

February 4, 2021 /3BL Media/ - As students returned to school after a holiday break, EarthX announces the finalists of its Fall 2020 Youth Film Challenge and rolls out its Virtual Field Trip offerings. Further youth enrichment, including Film Fellowships, is forthcoming.

Youth Film Challenge | The winners of the Fall 2020 Planet911 Youth Film Challenge, in partnership with Creative Visions production company, have been chosen. $10,500 in cash prizes were awarded during a virtual ceremony that aired via livestream on Friday at EarthxTV; with an encore presentation scheduled for Friday, February 5th.

The young filmmakers created 50-second clips to wake up the world to environmental issues covering two topics – Voting for a Sustainable Future and Environmental Justice - with submissions received from around the world including Australia, Northern Ireland, the Democratic Republic of Congo, India and across the United States, including Hawaii.  

Six main prizes were granted as well as additional awards for schools and youth organizations with the most entries, early bird submissions, people's choice selection and several impact grants as follows:

Topic 1 - Voting for a Sustainable Future
Grand Prize $1000 to Ruby Laurtizen - Dear President Trump
Richardson High School, Richardson TX
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Category Prize $500 Age Group 10-16 to Sharish Jones - Just Recycle!
Lake Highlands High School, Dallas TX
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Category Prize $500 Age Group 17-22 to Prinavi Thiruvuri - Composting for Earth
South Grand Prairie High School, Grand Prairie TX

Topic 2 - Environmental Justice
Grand Prize $1000 to Milla Heckler - Universal Language
Los Angeles, CA
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Category Prize $500 Age Group 10-16 to Yahya Najeeb - Deforestation Harms
Brighter Horizons Academy, Garland TX
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Category Prize $500 Age Group 17-22 to Linda Mai - Keep Grand Prairie Beautiful
South Grand Prairie High School, Grand Prairie TX

Early Bird Prize
Early Bird Prize Value $250 to Lauren Erickson - Let's Live
Lake Highlands High School, Dallas TX

Most Motivated Organization Award
$1000 to use towards environmental education, or towards an Environmental Justice or environmental improvement project by the youth organization with the Most Entries (5 entry minimum) 
South Grand Prairie High School - Keep Grand Prairie Beautiful (9 entries)
Grand Prairie, TX

Impact Awards:
$1000 split amongst three organizations making an impact toward featured film topics
Winner $500to the organization Aquabotics from the film: Aquabotics (Jensen Coonradt representing Organization)
Oswego East High School - Aurora, Illinois
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Honorable Mention $250 Given to the organization - The Ocean Cleanup from film by Kingsley Fifer - The Ocean Cleanup
Lake Highlands Highschool - Dallas, Texas
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Honorable Mention $250 Given to the organization - 808 Cleanups featured in 2 films:
Isaac Tanoura's - Project 911 and
Līhauikanoe De Lima's - Ocean Pollution
Both from Kamehameha Schools Kapālama in O'ahu, Hawaii

People’s Choice Award (formerly Social Media Award)
$1000 to the film with most social media votes #EX/P911 
to Elliot Connor - age 18: Nature’s Numbers
Manly Selective Campus NBSC, NSW, Australia

Most Motivated School - Group Cash Award 
$1000 to use towards Environmental education, or towards an Environmental Justice or environmental improvement project for the School with the Most Entries (5 entry minimum) 
Winner $1000 to Lake Highlands High School - Dallas, Texas - 59 Entries
Runner Up - South Grand Prairie - Grand Prairie, Texas - 26 Entries
2nd Runner Up - Brighter Horizons Academy - Garland, TX -  17 entires

Up next, in partnership with Creative Visions and The Redford Center, EarthX presents the Spring 2021 Planet911 Youth Film Challenge - Planet Stewardship, and Co-presents The Redford Center film challenge  - both now accepting submissions with a deadline of March 16th and March 30th.  Filmmakers ages 10 to 22 will be invited to make a 50 or 90 second video showcasing their wake-up call for the world for the topics Planet Stewardship and Environmental Justice.

Virtual Field Trips | Also beginning January 11, EarthX Virtual Field Trips were made available on earthx.org/education. Capsule field trips complement the free EarthX K-12 environmental STEAM curriculum with content highlighting the activities of EarthX partners such as Sea Turtle Inc., SchoolYard Films and EarthEcho International.

With new trips to be added monthly through April, each video includes a lesson goal, vocabulary, standards (including Next Generation Science Standards and Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) and guiding questions. Field trips aim to supplement virtual learning and familiarize students with environmental solutions to formidable global challenges.

EarthxYouth Fellowship| In partnership with Creative Visions, EarthxFilm will welcome its first cohort of Planet911 film fellows this summer. Each fellow will participate in an educational seminar series and develop a TED-Ed style presentation or short film based on an environmental topic, that will air on EarthxTV during Half Earth Day and/or Earth Week. Students will also be offered the alternative of participating as a moderator, guest or town hall participant on EarthxTV Planet911 Youth Reports, where young planet heroes, environmental artists, climate activists, inventors and filmmakers are celebrated and showcased.

The inaugural group will include up to 10 fellows, selected from the finalists of the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 Planet911 Youth Film Challenges, along with participants from the Planet911 Youth Reports program and Creative Visions’ Rock Your Rights program. The young filmmakers will learn the ins and outs of filmmaking from experts, educators and at least one assigned mentor, to create engaging video content, ideal for a world that continues to socially-distance and rely on virtual media to learn and connect.

To follow the Planet911 film competition and learn more about EarthX youth initiatives, visit: earthx.org/education.

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ABOUT EarthX
EarthX convenes the world’s largest environmental expo, conference and film festival, and is a member of IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature. EarthxTV, launching in Fall 2020 is a web-based platform for balanced, inclusive environmental conversations, programs, emerging media & films. Founded in 2011 by environmentalist and businessman Trammell S. Crow, the Texas-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization promotes environmental awareness and impact through conscious business, nonpartisan collaboration and community-driven sustainable solutions.  Earthx2020 was held virtually in April and drew over 550,000 visitors worldwide. Visit www.EarthX.org or follow us @earthxorg on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.