Film festival goes green: 18-09-2008
Travellers in Japan will be able to enjoy the Tokyo International Film Festival with a clear conscience after it was announced that for the first time, the festival will go green.
The festival will run from October 18th to October 26th and is now in its 21st year.
Organisers announced on Thursday that a range of measures will be taken to help the environment at this year's event.
Chairman of the festival Tom Yoda explained the thinking behind the move to go green.
"We make films, but the Earth made us. We would like to appeal to as many people as possible the importance of environment," he said.
"One of the most urgent problems we now face is protecting the Earth's environment.
"While many individual films have grappled with how to sustain our environment, no international film festival has yet stepped up to champion this issue."
Among the moves to go green, the festival will bestow a new award to a film that gives outstanding consideration to nature, the environment and ecology.