Applications for the Fellowships should be based on either of the following themes.

Filmmakers can submit multiple applications based on any of the themes.

Theme 1
Climate Change & Cities - Climate Change Mitigation in Urban Areas

Why Cities ?
Only 30% of India’s population lives in cities and yet cities consume enormous amounts of energy and are disproportionately responsible for emitting high levels of greenhouse gases which cause climate change. The lifestyle of people living in the cities is highly dependent on energy and machines and hence there is an increase in carbon emissions at home, offices, schools, colleges, markets, shops, malls, cinema’s, business establishments, roads, parks etc. In the future, cities will be host to an ever increasing population and hence they have a critical role to play in the reduction of carbon emissions and the reversal of dangerous climate change.

What are we looking for ?
We are looking for successful case studies in Indian cities which depict original and innovative methods to tackle climate change. The case studies should be successful examples of low-carbon adaptation in urban areas. Greener technology, policy changes, lifestyle changes all contribute significantly to reducing carbon emissions which consequently leads to mitigating climate change.

Suggestive Sub-themes could be:
1.Green spaces in urban areas
2.Green buildings
3.Lifestyle/ behavioural
4.Green technology innovation & entrepreneurs
5.Green awareness & Youth

However this is not an exclusive list, you are encouraged to search for examples under newer themes.

The mitigation theme chosen for the film should be impactful, viable, low-cost and inspiring for other communities to replicate. Examples of initiatives that have already impacted a larger section of urban society will be preferred.

Some Urban examples from past UKEFF films:

Every city generates thousands of tonnes of garbage each day. Around the globe, these vast quantities of waste reach dump sites and landfills, which contribute to global warming. They are the largest anthropogenic source of Methane - a potent green house gas that has a Global Warming Potential 21 times that of Carbon Dioxide. Strategic policies to reduce methane emissions are critical as they have the potential to have an immediate impact on global green house effects. UKEFF 2009 winner Chandrasekhar Reddy’s film ‘Don’t Rubbish it’ highlighted examples from Matheran and Bangalore where organizations are concentrating efforts to generate energy from waste. The film successfully demonstrates how segregating and re-using waste are the first simple steps to mitigating Climate Change in cities.

Similarly, Sashi Shivaramakrishna, (UKEFF 2007 winner) in his film Building a Green Future…Now explored how buildings consume more than a third of all energy produced. His film shows the efforts towards energy conservation in our built environment, both residential and at the workplace. From the design of open basements that harness sunlight, natural ventilation systems, use of materials like soil-stabilised blocks and laterite, and earth tunnels for air-conditioning, ‘Building a Green Future…Now’ reveals how some buildings in India are making a difference.

Theme 2
Climate Change & Water

Why Water?
Clean and reliable water is a vital resource for humankind. But it is also a resource that is unevenly distributed. Already around 1.2 billion people, or almost one-fifth of the world's population, live in areas of physical water scarcity and many more lack access to reliable water supplies. Nearly all those without decent access to water live in developing countries.

Climate change is changing the picture of water availability across the world, and specifically in India. Scientists agree that both water scarcity and flooding (which itself reduces the availability of clean drinking water) are set to increase in a climate changed world, bringing water misery to many millions. The impact of climate change on water therefore cannot be ignored.

Impacts of Climate Change on water availability
Freshwater resources are highly sensitive to variations in weather and climate. We can therefore be sure that India’s waters will be affected as the planet warms:

The Himalayan glaciers – the water tower of Asia – are under threat. They are already in retreat, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has suggested they may disappear altogether by 2035. This will this lead to rising sea levels and floods in the short term, and massively reduced summer river flows in the longer term.. These glaciers feed and regulate the water supply to the Ganges, Indus, Brahmaputra rivers, which half a billion people in South Asia rely on.

Climate change will change rainfall patterns, and will alter the frequencies of floods and droughts. The change that climate change will bring to the monsoon remains unknown, although climate scientists predict a shorter but more intense monsoon, combined with longer dry spells. This will mean drier conditions in drought prone areas, and severe cases of flash-flooding. The weakness in the 2009 Monsoon gives just a glimpse of what the future water picture looks like for India. When combined with a growing population and ever greater demand for water, we can see that climate change poses a major threat.

Given the scale of the challenge, and the certainty of the threat it is clear that we need to act now. Better management of water resources can deliver benefits now, and build India’s resilience to tackle the growing threat of climate change.

What are we looking for?
We’re looking for films that will bring these issues to life for ordinary people. The films may therefore fall into one of the following categories, or weave these together in one film.

•Impacts: Real life stories of how climate change is and will impact on water availability in India. Films may look at the big picture, or focus down to the realities of life in either rural or urban India.

•Best Practice: Examples of how local communities and governments, both in rural and urban areas are using innovation or tradition in water management to help India adapt to a world in which flooding and drought are more common. This may include sustainable ground water usage in times of monsoon skips, rainwater harvesting or efficient flood water management.  

Films may also highlight co-benefits from these best practices, for instance, in rural water management, rainwater harvesting would help us rely less on diesel pumps and thus lower carbon emissions and reduce costs.

We are specifically looking at the link between climate change and water, so will not accept proposals that tackle issues such as water pollution.