HERE’S an unusual film festival – the films being screened were all winners in the International Year of Forests Film Festival.

This short event, a collaboration between the UN office, Embassy of the USA and the National Library of Australia, aims to raise awareness of the importance of forests’ relationship with people and the planet we share.

The festival includes films featuring Sir David Attenborough and by Australian David Warth.

Highlighted films are “The Queen of Trees” from Kenya, which was awarded Best of Festival, “Conflict Tiger” from Russia, winner of This Is My Forest category, and “America’s Wild Spaces: Appalachian Trail”  from the US, awarded as “the film that best communicates humanity’s social, cultural, economic or spiritual interconnectivity to forests.”

This year, the United Nations Information Centre for Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific is running a photography competition, the winner of which will undertake an internship with the UN office in PNG photographing some of the forest initiatives being undertaken by the UN.

The photographs, by CIT students, were recently displayed at the High Court, and will be displayed at the Australian National Botanic Gardens at the end of the year.

The photography project, the centre says, has given the students an opportunity to research the issues, exhibit their work and also for the winner to gain experience with the UN through the internship.

Other local photography internships were awarded as well. In a similar project last year for International Year of Biodiversity,  the winner last year did an internship with the UN mission in Timor L’Este.

International Year of Forests Film Festival, National Library of Australia from 12.30-7:30pm on Wednesday November 2. Entry free.

The Queen of Trees (52 min, Kenya) the Best of Festival Award, 12.30pm.
Satoyama: Japan’s Secret Forest (51 min, Japan), 2.00pm.
America’s Wild Spaces: Appalachian Trail (50 min, USA), 3.00pm.

Bookings to nla.eventbrite.com or 02 6262 1271.