Forestry and its crucial role in maintaining the balance of nature will be the focus of the two evening open-air screenings presented by the Prada Group to the city on Thursday September 12th and Sunday September 29th.
The initiative intends to support green culture and the goals of the Forestami Academy, a Prada Group and Forestami project whose aim is to educate and involve citizens on the subject of urban forestry through a three-year structured program of meetings, seminars and workshops coordinated by Maria Chiara Pastore, Professor at the Politecnico of Milan, along with the participation of leading national and international experts on green spaces and forestry. In 2023, the focus of the Academy was “Knowing forests and where they grow”, in 2024 the central theme is “Urban forestry: well-being and health”, while in 2025 the meetings will deal with the topic “Plants and their presence in cities”.
The screenings will be held outdoors at AriAnteo CityLife – Milan, from 8:00 p.m., with an introduction by Lia Furxhi, Director of the Festival CinemAmbiente. Forestry experts and representatives of the Forestami Academy and Prada Group will take part.
The selection of documentaries – shown in their original language with Italian subtitles – was curated by Festival CinemAmbiente, international cinema event dedicated to the environment founded in 1998 that promotes environmental culture and movies.
On Thursday, September 12th the documentary “Il était une forêt” by Luc Jacquet (France, 2013) will be shown, recounting the exploration of the large rainforests, the green lungs of the planet, narrated by the botanist and ecologist Francis Hallé.
Then, on Sunday, September 29th there will be a screening of the documentary “Les saisons” by Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud (France/Germany, 2016), a journey into the history of Europe where the sudden growth of an immense forest caused transformations linked to the seasonal cycle, changes to the land and to the evolution of the flora and fauna.
Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada Group Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, said: “Through these two evenings of open-air screenings addressed to the city of Milan on the theme of green spaces, we aim to get more citizens involved and emphasize the importance of the culture of urban forestry, which underpins the Forestami Academy project.”
Stefano Boeri, President of the Forestami Scientific Committee, stated: “Forestami’s dissemination campaign on the benefits for the city and citizens of the urban forestation project has one of its pillars in Forestami Academy. The project, created with the Prada Group which adheres to our vision, now opens up to an increasingly wider audience through the language of cinema and its extraordinary communicative capacity.”
The initiative is free of charge. You can register on the website pradagroup.com from today, subject to availability.
Prada Group
Prada Group is socially engaged to contribute to the sustainable development of the communities and stimulate the cultural debate in all its forms of expression. The Group partners with recognized players and international entities to develop educational and training programs, value talent, support scientific research, foster women’s empowerment, and promote local culture and artistic heritage. Prada Group operates in the luxury sector through the Prada, Miu Miu, Church’s, Car Shoe, Marchesi 1824 and Luna Rossa brands.
Forestami
The project that aims to involve everyone, citizens, local communities, institutions, associations and companies in the responsibility of mitigating climate change by planting 3 million new trees by 2030. Forestami is also committed to promote knowledge, care and enhancement of the natural ecosystems of the territory for increasingly inclusive participation and greater awareness of the benefits of urban forestry.
Forestami is a project promoted by the Municipality of Milan, the Metropolitan City of Milan, the Regional Council of Lombardy, Parco Nord Milano, Parco Agricolo Sud Milano, ERSAF and Fondazione di Comunità Milano.
Festival CinemAmbiente
Festival CinemAmbiente was founded in Turin in 1998 with the aim of presenting the best international environmental movies and documentaries, and contributing to the promotion of environmental culture and cinema through events run over the course of the year. Founded by Gaetano Capizzi, the festival is the most important is the most important Italian event dedicated to movies with an environmental theme.
Lia Furxhi has been the festival’s director since 2024.
CinemAmbiente is a founding member of the Green Film Network, an association that brings together the most important environmentally themed international film festivals.
