IF/Then Shorts Global Pitch 2019

Tribeca Film Institute (TFI) in partnership with IDFA (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam), and RYOT Films selected six projects focused on climate stories around the globe to present at the IF/Then Shorts pitch competition at IDFA on November 26, 2019. 

The winner was selected by a professional jury consisting of: 

Amy Hobby, TFI 
Jia Zhao, PhD, Producer (Lady of the Harbour; Kabul, City in the Wind)
Raul Niño Zambrano, Programmer, IDFA
Judy Kibinge, Executive Director, DocuBox
Alison Klayman, Director (Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry; The Brink) 

The jury chose MOUNTAIN MAIN, directed by Arun Bhattarai, as the competition winner to receive $25,000 in project funding and the opportunity to participate in TFI's IF/Then Shorts Program, which provides year-round mentorship and career development opportunities. 

The jury also selected CEMETERY OF GREEN SOULS, directed by Polen Ly, and BURIED DEAD MOUNTAIN, directed by Primrin Puarat, as honorable mentions to receive the IEFTA and TFI prize listed below. 

ADDITIONAL PRIZES:

One project will be awarded an honorable mention prize of USD $2000, from Tribeca Film Institute and International Emerging Film Talent Association (IEFTA.) The International Emerging Film Talent Association (IEFTA), a Monaco-based non-governmental organisation, was founded in 2006 with the purpose of discovering and developing film talent from emerging regions, globally. It aims to connect filmmakers to established industry professionals, engage cultural diversity and foster relationship that are mentoring, inspiring and educational.

The winner was selected from the following six projects:

MOUNTAIN MAN 
Director: Arun Bhattarai
Location: Bhutan
One of Bhutan’s first glaciologists hikes for days through dangerous terrain, risking his life to measure the rapidly receding glaciers of the Himalayas.   

CEMETERY OF GREEN SOULS 
Director: Polen Ly
Country: Cambodia
A mother joins her small indigenous tribe to fight against commercial loggings in their ancestral forest, enduring countless risks and violence in process.   

BURIED DEAD MOUNTAIN
Director: Primrin Puarat
Producer: Pom Bunsermvicha
Country: Thailand

A constantly expanding dumpsite in Chonburi has grown as tall as a mountain. Composed of over 3 million tons of waste, its notorious stench stretches across several kilometers. While Chonburi was positioned as a central base to drive the Thai economy, its development brings an environmental catastrophe in its wake. 

VENA AQUÁTICA
Director: Amanda Torruella
Producer: Seth Gadsen
Country: El Salvador

The lives of three fisherwomen intertwine as they tackle the environmental degradation of their homeland from climate change, water mismanagement and human displacement.   

A VIEW FROM THE EDGE
Director: Chloe White
Producer: Jodie Taylor
Country: United Kingdom
A striking meditation on loss and impermanence, through the personal cost of coastal erosion. Told by residents of various cliff-edge towns across the United Kingdom, as they lose their beloved homes to the sea. 

THE THIRD SEASON 
Director: Stephanie Saxemard
Producer: Zephrine Royer
Country: Dominica

The life of a young boy in Dominica who searches for normalcy after Hurricane Maria.