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Green Dragon Pioneers Film Project - Stage One

Region: China
Author: Caroline Harrison, Green Dragon Media, California USA
Consortium Member: Virtual Foundation Director (ECOLOGIA)
Status: Needs Funding Budget: $15000 Collected: $0 Needs: $15000
Goal: The Green Dragon Pioneers Film Project is a film series about the pioneers of mass-scale sustainable development in China. The goal is to inform Chinese mayors and planners about the viability of sustainable, environmentally friendly construction. This funding is sought for Stage One - research and groundwork.
Comment: In addition to reaching the mayors and planners, a version of the film series is planned for public broadcast, to build consumer and community support for such solutions by informing the Chinese general public.

A scene of ‘typical development’ in Qingdao, August 2007.

Project Need

When the Green Dragon Media Project interviewed over 65 experts across China, it became clear to us that the key to rapid adoption of sustainable development in China is to build awareness among local government officials, specifically mayors, alongside consumers in their region.

The central government in Beijing is well-informed about the immediate need for energy efficient and clean energy development solutions, and has imposed significant efficiency targets within the current 11th five-year plan. Now, with only two and a half years to go to fulfill these targets, many mayors desperately seek proven and cost effective solutions while at the same time they are experience significant pressure to prove their region as an economic force.

As a result, the Central Party School, the China Association of Mayors and several China-based NGOs have set up sustainable development mayoral training programs to help mayors understand the ‘smart growth’ options available to them. Within these training courses exist significant opportunities to leverage their value through the use of film.

Chinese decision-makers will commonly travel in order to see and experience proven and successful examples of projects and structures they wish to replicate. However, it is logistically and financially impossible to transport the number of decision-makers these training programs are trying to reach, to see replicable sustainability solutions. There is therefore a very real need for film and visual imagery to ‘bring to life’ specific case studies to be shared with course attendees in China – some examples taken from pioneering regions within China and some from pioneering regions outside China.

At the same time, many of these solutions are designed to work within a market-based system and therefore require the awareness and support of consumers. There is also therefore a need to educate and inspire the general public alongside regional decision-makers, using standard national broadcast networks.

Photo forthcoming: Our production team speaking with Liangyungang local government officials in the summer of 2007.

Project Goals and Methods

This project will generate a series of films designed to have a positive impact on China’s shift toward resource efficiency and clean, renewable energy. It is designed as a follow on project to our first film project that launches this February. We will generate a series of short films that showcase mass-replicable solutions specifically for use by our partner training organizations. We will then re-version these films with a Chinese on-camera host for public broadcast.

The project is necessarily split into three stages; research, filming and post production, each of which can be funded separately. Our potential partners are:

• The Global Environmental Institute, Beijing “There is a definite need for case study and educational films within our capacity building programs” Lila Buckley, Assistant Executive Director. The GEI has a unique relationship with China’s National Central Party School (CPS). They work with the CPS trainers to educate them about sustainability solutions – information that the trainers then take to incorporate into the national CPS curriculum (it is mandatory for all mayors in China to go through this curriculum).
• JUCCCE (Joint U.S.-China Cooperation on Clean Energy: “We need short case study films that bring to life certain low-hanging fruit solutions that will help mayors achieve their efficiency targets of the 11th 5 year plan” Peggy Liu, Chairperson. JUCCCE works with the Ministry of Construction to run highly strategic mayoral training courses that ‘sell’ specific proven solutions to them alongside visuals of proven examples, local vendors and financing education. [Editor's note: JUCCCE was inaugurated in July 2007, as a U.S.-Chinese project designed to be a "non-profit incubator of market-driven initiatives to accelerate energy productivity, encourage green building and increase clean energy supply".]
• The China Association of Mayors
• The China-US Center for Sustainable Development: “We see considerable potential for a film crew to join us next year when we take a group of US experts to witness some of the best programs in China – and also for us to use film material in our own mayoral training here in Portland, Oregon” Hanling Yang, Senior Program Manager. The CUCSD works in partnership with the Ministry of Science and Technology. Every year they run a series of sustainability courses and bring mayors from China for an intensive course. Later in the year, the teachers then return to follow up on what has been implemented.
• The Sierra Club International This organization is about to launch a new department in China dedicated to setting up and running sustainability training courses for mayors. They are looking for media support.

Photo forthcoming: Our team interviewing Lianyungang officials in 2007

In addition, Middlebury College has agreed to provide three on-the-ground students in China to help us research and plan this project thoroughly through the summer of 2008. These students already have fantastic stories that show great potential for being documented.

A Breakdown of the Research Phase

This will be a 3-month process led by project director, Caroline Harrison and project Coordinator, River Yun Lu. The three Middlebury students will also be involved.

• Month 1:
  • Contact, visit and work with each of the potential partner organizations in order to identify exactly how we could create a film of the greatest impact alongside them.
  • Contact potential advisory panel members (see page 6), select advisory panel and begin to gather their thoughts on style and reach of this project.
  • Contact potential broadcasters, particularly CCTV (Chinese Central TV, the national network) who are already reviewing our first film for broadcast, and Phoenix TV who are focusing on socially responsible media) and explore broadcast commissions with them.
• Month 2
  • Identify the most feasible project with the greatest potential influence. Choose final partner organizations on the basis of greatest impact arising from the film project.
  • Work alongside these partner organizations to identify time frames and actual content.
  • Develop this content alongside advisory panel.
  • Develop capacity building strategy for widespread distribution of films i.e. by involving organizations who can offer networks and distribution avenues rather than financial funding.
  • Write official proposal for broadcasters based on a re-version of the content.
• Month 3
  Finalize time frame and feasible filming locations.
  • Translate this information into a proposal for funding of the filming phase.
  • Finalize a broadcast agreement based on intent.

About the Project Team

Caroline Harrison is originally from England where she worked for six years with the BBC as a television and radio producer. Her last film for the BBC, "Global Dimming", won the Planet Earth Award at the Wildscreen Film Festival leading her to be selected to work with a US-team on the National Geographic Co-Production ‘Strange Days on Planet Earth’ hosted by Edward Norton. Now resident in California. Caroline has launched her own production company, whose first project was the Green Dragon Media Phase 1 project.

Ms. River Lu has a BS in Economics and is currently a student at the Monterey Institute of International Studies (California) earning her Master’s degree in Translation and Interpretation. In summer 2007, as co-producer and localization director of Green Dragon Media Project, River went back to China to help create a documentary and multi-media on-line report that focused on identifying barriers and opportunities of green construction in China. Since then, she has been passionate about sustainability and is determined to contribute to this global aspiration in her future endeavours, with a particular focus on China and the US. River is fluent in both English and Chinese with excellent understanding of cultural idiosyncrasies.

Van Yang is an American citizen born to Chinese parents who has worked as a software technician, cameraman and editor. His passion is sustainable development, in particular green building, and he has as a result been integral to his local chapter of the US Green Building Council for many years. He recently acted as the translation and localization assistant to Rick Fedrizzi, CEO of the USGBC on a recent trip to China. Van, a handsome and natural in-front-of-camera host, is a perfect choice for hosting the public broadcast series. (When Van is hosting, Caroline will be filming).

Assistants
Our student researchers are most likely to come from Middlebury College where serious interest has already been expressed. Our local filming assistants will be picked from several existing options.

Project Budget and Time-Frame

Green Dragon Pioneers Film Project, Stage One: 12 weeks

Project Director, time	6,000
Project Coordinator, time	$6,000
Student assistants' travel within China	$900
Student assistants' allowance for hosting lunch/dinner meetings	$400
Postage and production costs of getting previous film to potential partner organizations	$400
Other admin costs: printing, telephone, utilities	$250
Office Space rental contribution, Monterey	$300
Virtual Foundation administration fee	$750
TOTAL	$15000

Potential Funders:
The Rockefeller Brothers Fund
The Energy Foundation
ARUP - (Our previous film project received funding from ARUP, a global business and design firm.)

Photo forthcoming: The team interviewing Jason Hu, Deputy General Manager and Senior engineer at China Merchants Property Development in July 2008. Jason is a visionary and pioneer of sustainable urban planning in China.