Yorkville High School student Teagan Fortier will earn an Honorable Mention at the high school level in the One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest for her short film "Gadgets and Droids." The international contest received 428 submissions this year.
In her 6-minute film, Teagan combines her original poetry, music, and video from the Everglades to make an artistic statement about Artificial Intelligence. She starts out with, "You've probably heard the news, a familiar voice: AI is taking over; we have no choice."
Teagan then underlines AI's contamination and waste of freshwater resources. She encourages us to turn off our devices and engage with the natural world by using our own imagination and brilliance.
For more solutions to AI's environmental impact, she suggests, in rhyme: "Implement a closed loop cooling system, monitor the data centers where we all fell victim."
In her submission, Teagan explains: "I wanted to communicate the effects AI has on everything in our lives, environmental and internal, and to motivate others to stop using AI."
The annual One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest Global Awards Celebration will take place at 10 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 27, both in person at the Davis Theater, 4614 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago, and online virtually anywhere in the world. Featuring the top 10 winning films from among 428 submissions, this event is the fourth with global reach since the contest started 14 years ago. Reserve tickets here.
This year's celebration also shines a spotlight on Honorable Mention filmmakers. Audiences will enjoy a special preview reel featuring seven additional films that impressed the jury with their creativity and passion, including "Gadgets and Droids." Some of these talented filmmakers will even be in Chicago on stage to receive their awards alongside the top winners.
The celebration continues with an exclusive virtual screening of all seven Honorable Mention films on Saturday, Oct. 24. This is a chance to see these stories in their entirety and support these young filmmakers. Tickets are free, but registration is required to receive the link. For the full experience, reserve tickets for both Sunday, Sept. 27, and Saturday, Oct. 24.
About One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest
The One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest asks students from age 8 to 25 to create a 3- to 8- minute environmental film that inspires change or action. Animated or stop-motion films can be a minimum of 45 seconds long. Students receive individualized feedback from our robust jury of over 30 film and environmental experts, making this contest a unique learning experience. The 2027 contest opens soon on Film Freeway with a deadline of June 25. Learn more about the contest by visiting the website.
During the past year, One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest received 428 submissions from 58 countries and 35 states. India, Germany, Guinea, Taiwan, Poland, Argentina, South Korea, and Norway will be represented among all winners, along with the U.S. states of Georgia, New York, Texas, Florida, Illinois, and California.
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