The Story of EcoCinema   EcoCinema has founded the first and only environmental film festival in Israel, operating since 2004. It is a non-profit organization whose goal is raising Israel's environmental awareness   To date, 120 International and Israeli films have been screened in the festival and over 25,000 people attended, watched the films and took part in the festival’s varied activities.   The environmental crisis has become a main concern on the global agenda in recent years, and action in this area is seen as a necessity. In Israel, on the other hand, a long standing habit of regarding the environment as a very low priority is preventing matters from changing at the required rate. At the same time, the Israeli public shows a great deal of curiosity and a true desire for interesting, reliable information regarding this global issue and how it relates to their life.   The answer EcoCinema provides for this problem is the use of films and visual media. EcoCinema's festivals include ecological fairs and utilization of additional forms of art such as street theater and music. We hold an annual major festival in Israeli cinematheqeus which features the best and newly released films from around the world, translated and screened with Hebrew subtitles. Following the festival we screen selected films in culture centers throughout Israel as part of "The Green Film Club". In addition, we encourage further cinematic creation in environmental themes through organizing competitions and awarding environmental filmmakers with grants.   Our Goals   1. Raising environmental awareness through use of cinema and visual media in order to bring on a cultural-environmental change within the Israeli    public. 2. Promoting and encouraging production of environmental films, particularly by Israeli filmmakers.

Our Projects   The International Environmental Film Festival - our annual international festival which includes The International Documentary Film Competition. The festival has taken place every year since 2004. From the 2009 EcoCinema Festival and on, we will hold a competition for feature length films from around the world. 10 films will participate in this competition. The participating filmmakers will be invited to Israel to present their films and conduct master class workshops for local filmmakers.   The "Green Shot" Competition for Short Films - This year, for the third consecutive year, a student's films competition will take place. Students from 11 academic institutions’ film departments will submit their films to the competition. A workshop will be held for the participants before the competition in order to provide them with tools and direct their focus to environmental issues.   "The Green Film Club" - EcoCinema reaches the peripheries through monthly screenings in local cinemas and community centers. The films screenings are often accompanied by a lecture by an expert, specializing in the issue the film presents. This program has been successfully implemented in Jerusalem, Zichron Yaakov, Sakhnin and Karmiel and is in preliminary stages for other locations such as the Jordan Valley, The Arava and Haifa.   Digital Information Center - The Center is an archive of the films screened at the EcoCinema Festival. It contains a library of DVD and Beta copies and offers digital materials that can be used in schools, business companies and additional public organizations. The goal of the Center is to supply quality environmental contents to the different organizations, thus allowing them to create awareness of the issues.    The "Green Middle East" Grant - We plan on holding a competition which will call for proposals of short films as co productions of Israeli filmmakers and other filmmakers from the Middle East. The films must be about environmental issues in the Middle East. The winners of the competition will receive a grant for producing their film.