When AI Encounters Environmentalism - Ling Jiou Mountain Moonlight Film Festival Engages Intergenerational Dialogue on Earth’s Future
The Ling Jiou Mountain (LJM) Here On Earth launched its Moonlight Film Festival 2024 (aka Climate Films Under The Moon) on September 28 (Taiwan Time) at Chan Space New York. The festival featured environmental artist and university professor Amy Cheung’s award-winning experimental documentary TimeBank THE GAME: The Record of an Experiment, and short climate films produced through Here On Earth project, an environmental youth education program funded by LJM. This creative online learning initiative brought together high school and college students from three major cities: New York, London, and Taipei to co-create their climate stories. The films screened display the beautiful connections between Nature and humankind. The event was a platform for dialogue among intergenerational artists through their respective works. At the event, Professor Amy Cheung interacted with the audience via zoom online to engage with young generations’ takes on sustainability issues.
Lu Chih-Lan, Education Director for the LJM initiative GFLP (Global Family of Love & Peace), said that there have been numerous activities in New York City this September on issues involving sustainability and the youth, such as Climate Week New York and the UN Summit for the Future. To support causes of global magnitude such as environmental protection and sustainability, LJM curated the Moonlight Film Festival which featured a renowned film director alongside young filmmakers to jointly raise public awareness of our deteriorating ecology. Director Lu also stressed that China’s 24 Solar Terms on the Lunar Calendar and traditional holidays reflect time-honored wisdom born out of human and Nature’s co-existence. As the Mid-Autumn Festival has just been celebrated recently, the film event was accompanied by a tea party with delicious mooncakes to contribute to a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere for climate-focused interactions.
Incorporating AI-generated cinematography, Professor Cheung’s environmental documentary TimeBank The GAME: The Record of An Experiment lent itself to an unnerving, innovative visual impact that truthfully recorded the Earth’s plight of environmental crises, while exploring what can be implemented to turn things around before it’s too late.
Professor Cheung’s experimental documentary stemmed from the TimeBank: THE GAME project, at its foundation an interactive game that engaged 100 participating youths to achieve 4 assignments in virtual and offline reality – redistribution of food surplus; design of energy-saving light bulbs; beach cleaning; and driftwood rejuvenation. Gamers are encouraged to do actual deeds to benefit the Earth, and the accomplishment of tasks is rewarded with time coins that can be spent to level up in the game. Gamers fulfilling their tasks are incentivized and prize money is given out to help kickstart their respective environmental action plans.
At the event, three environmental activists shared their climate stories and motivation to act. Through Zoom, Professor Cheung explained her film’s gaming mechanism was by default an outreach attempt aimed at the youth by staying in sync with their lifestyle. The documentary not only runs on AI-designed footage in presenting the gaming universe but also covers how the gamers physically carried out their environmental assignments. The documentary was thus a multi-layered parallel universe, online vs offline, virtual vs physical reality settings. Cheung was hopeful that the youths would thus break away from the traditional model of environmental education, and instead grow into an inspired awareness of sustainability that they live and breathe.
Niko, freshly graduated as an Environmental Science major, recently concluded his internship in marine ecology conservation. He shared stories of efforts to save coral reefs and tracking commercial ocean liners for their excessive fishing. Many coral reefs in the world’s oceans show signs of deteriorating calcification due to the rise of sea temperature and the dire pollution the oceans suffer from. Part of his efforts went to planting new coral reefs in hopes of reviving marine biodiversity by creating habitats for algae and small sea creatures.
Max has a biotech background with a graduate degree in Biomedical Engineering, and he currently focuses on engineering lab-grown meat from cultured cells. Large-scale animal husbandry over time has damaged the ecological equilibrium and the effects include massive land use resulting in habitat loss and wasteful use of petrochemical fuel for the production of feed, which worsens the greenhouse effect and contributes to global warming. Max is hopeful that cell agriculture including cultivating cellular meat and other agricultural produce such as “palmless” palm oil will help mitigate damage done to the environment.
The stories shared by the three environmental activists led to enthusiastic reactions from the audience. High schooler Christina asked what it takes to become a go-getter just like the three role models. She further expressed wishes to join GFLP’s voluntary work to pitch in for amending wrongs inflicted upon the Earth.
Christina’s mother was present on the occasion and supported her daughter’s decision. She said she had been too preoccupied by her work to realize how terrible the Earth’s ecological suffering has become. But after taking part in GFLP’s serial events for Earth Day, Ocean Day, and now Climate Week New York, she realized that time was running out. Other participants included graduate students of Columbia University, United Nation staffers, global marine protection organization, etc., whose back-to-back contribution to the discussions kept the event lively.
The LJM Climate Films under the Moon 2024 touched people‘s hearts and evoked an innate awakening to cherish and care for Mother Earth by screening visually powerful documentaries and inviting live climate story-telling by environmental activists. It was more than a film gala, but an opportunity to explore the interconnectedness between people and Nature. Let us stand guard for Mother Earth with compassion, wisdom, and spirituality. Only when everyone shoulders their share in ecological protection, is it possible for us to warrant our future generations a beautiful world still.
Lu Chih-Lan, Education Director for the LJM initiative GFLP (Global Family of Love & Peace), said that there have been numerous activities in New York City this September on issues involving sustainability and the youth, such as Climate Week New York and the UN Summit for the Future. To support causes of global magnitude such as environmental protection and sustainability, LJM curated the Moonlight Film Festival which featured a renowned film director alongside young filmmakers to jointly raise public awareness of our deteriorating ecology. Director Lu also stressed that China’s 24 Solar Terms on the Lunar Calendar and traditional holidays reflect time-honored wisdom born out of human and Nature’s co-existence. As the Mid-Autumn Festival has just been celebrated recently, the film event was accompanied by a tea party with delicious mooncakes to contribute to a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere for climate-focused interactions.
Incorporating AI-generated cinematography, Professor Cheung’s environmental documentary TimeBank The GAME: The Record of An Experiment lent itself to an unnerving, innovative visual impact that truthfully recorded the Earth’s plight of environmental crises, while exploring what can be implemented to turn things around before it’s too late.
Professor Cheung’s experimental documentary stemmed from the TimeBank: THE GAME project, at its foundation an interactive game that engaged 100 participating youths to achieve 4 assignments in virtual and offline reality – redistribution of food surplus; design of energy-saving light bulbs; beach cleaning; and driftwood rejuvenation. Gamers are encouraged to do actual deeds to benefit the Earth, and the accomplishment of tasks is rewarded with time coins that can be spent to level up in the game. Gamers fulfilling their tasks are incentivized and prize money is given out to help kickstart their respective environmental action plans.
At the event, three environmental activists shared their climate stories and motivation to act. Through Zoom, Professor Cheung explained her film’s gaming mechanism was by default an outreach attempt aimed at the youth by staying in sync with their lifestyle. The documentary not only runs on AI-designed footage in presenting the gaming universe but also covers how the gamers physically carried out their environmental assignments. The documentary was thus a multi-layered parallel universe, online vs offline, virtual vs physical reality settings. Cheung was hopeful that the youths would thus break away from the traditional model of environmental education, and instead grow into an inspired awareness of sustainability that they live and breathe.
Niko, freshly graduated as an Environmental Science major, recently concluded his internship in marine ecology conservation. He shared stories of efforts to save coral reefs and tracking commercial ocean liners for their excessive fishing. Many coral reefs in the world’s oceans show signs of deteriorating calcification due to the rise of sea temperature and the dire pollution the oceans suffer from. Part of his efforts went to planting new coral reefs in hopes of reviving marine biodiversity by creating habitats for algae and small sea creatures.
Max has a biotech background with a graduate degree in Biomedical Engineering, and he currently focuses on engineering lab-grown meat from cultured cells. Large-scale animal husbandry over time has damaged the ecological equilibrium and the effects include massive land use resulting in habitat loss and wasteful use of petrochemical fuel for the production of feed, which worsens the greenhouse effect and contributes to global warming. Max is hopeful that cell agriculture including cultivating cellular meat and other agricultural produce such as “palmless” palm oil will help mitigate damage done to the environment.
The stories shared by the three environmental activists led to enthusiastic reactions from the audience. High schooler Christina asked what it takes to become a go-getter just like the three role models. She further expressed wishes to join GFLP’s voluntary work to pitch in for amending wrongs inflicted upon the Earth.
Christina’s mother was present on the occasion and supported her daughter’s decision. She said she had been too preoccupied by her work to realize how terrible the Earth’s ecological suffering has become. But after taking part in GFLP’s serial events for Earth Day, Ocean Day, and now Climate Week New York, she realized that time was running out. Other participants included graduate students of Columbia University, United Nation staffers, global marine protection organization, etc., whose back-to-back contribution to the discussions kept the event lively.
The LJM Climate Films under the Moon 2024 touched people‘s hearts and evoked an innate awakening to cherish and care for Mother Earth by screening visually powerful documentaries and inviting live climate story-telling by environmental activists. It was more than a film gala, but an opportunity to explore the interconnectedness between people and Nature. Let us stand guard for Mother Earth with compassion, wisdom, and spirituality. Only when everyone shoulders their share in ecological protection, is it possible for us to warrant our future generations a beautiful world still.