The short films, “'5x5, Voices of Change from the Forests of Indonesia” were awarded Best Cultural Message and Best Film for a Government Agency at the Montana festival.
All the stories and some of the footage are from groups trained by EIA and Indonesian NGO Telapak since 1998.
The set of five films made by Handcrafted Films and Gekko Studios with support from the UK Government’s Department For International Development (DFID) were also given a Merit Award for Sound Design, a Merit Award for Perspective and a Merit Award for Filmmaker Style.
“This is a great honor and we applaud your fantastic efforts,” said Festival Director Janet Rose.
"Best of the best"
“With a record number of entries this year and the exceptional quality of the films entered, the competition was stiff and it was a challenge to choose the best of the best.”
Paul Redman Handcrafted Films Director said: “This is great news and a massive compliment to the work of EIA, Telapak and the civil society groups involved in our Forest program.
“The stories in these films, that EIA have been involved in for many years, will now be heard by a new and appreciative audience.”
The films will be screened at this year’s 31st International Wildlife Film Festival , The Changing Planet : from May 10th to 17th.