EMA Green Seal for Students Spotlight: Shannon S. Simpson

The Green Film School Alliance continues to grow. Last year, over 20 projects earned the EMA Green Seal for Students. Like our EMA Green Seal for Productions, student films that achieve a minimum of sustainable production goals as identified in the GFSA's Production Environmental Actions Checklist (PEACHy) receive a Green Seal.

2023 continues to see students interested in mitigating the environmental impact of their films, a vital skill to develop before entering the industry. Today, we showcase CSULB student Shannon S. Simpson who recently received our Green Seal for his student film, "What About Daddy?"

The team and I spent months working on "What About Daddy?" and figuring out how to achieve the EMA Green Seal. What made us want to commit to the EMA Green Seal was that we wanted to help the environment and keep it clean. We could recycle our little trash and put them in recycling bins. The team and I used gallons of water instead of single-use water bottles. 

Water bottles cause more trash and plastic, which we did not want, so reusable bottles significantly reduced waste. Those were the easiest to sustain to achieve the EMA Green Seal. We also used iPads instead of paper, which took a lot of work. We only had a limited number of iPads, and our crew was large, at around 45 people. We used recyclable paper plates, forks, and spoons. We mostly used recyclable batteries and chargers, turned off lights when not used, and used minimal paper, which we printed double-sided. 

It is so valuable that filmmakers practice sustainability on their own before heading out into their careers because of the knowledge and experience they will gain from it. They will learn to be more efficient and navigate the unique challenges we face to achieve sustainability in a constantly changing career.

Working to achieve the EMA Green Seal for students is worth it because it helps people be mindful of the material they're using and all the waste that sets mindlessly generate. 

Currently, I am not working on any projects. I am writing my feature screenplay. Anyone who wants to see my work can see it on my YouTube channel and my Instagram, Shannon S. Simpson (@thenisurvived).

Learn more about our EMA Green Seal for Students here!