The Focus on Energy Film Festival, created by SCARCE, gives high school and college students in DuPage County an opportunity to make short videos in world languages that promote energy conservation.

Executor Director, Kay McKeen, started SCARCE, originally called SCRAP, in 1990 while teaching in DuPage County Schools about recycling and other environmental concerns.

“(McKeen) was out teaching when she realized that many schools had countless textbooks just sitting in storage, taking up space. The information started getting old, and it was costing the schools money for the books to sit in storage. Plus, they were going to end up in the landfill,” energy advisor Jeff Gahris said.

In 1991 McKeen started The Book Rescue, the idea of “rescuing” gently used books (text, reference, and library) from going into the landfill, and instead, putting them into the hands of those who need them. SCARCE was then officially formed.

“There are more than 60 languages spoken in DuPage County, and we are trying to help everyone benefit from smart energy efficiency solutions, and believe that language shouldn’t be a barrier,” Gahris said.

The film festival is a creative opportunity to develop a culturally appropriate environmental message which gives students the chance to win $1,000 cash prizes for teams with winning videos and a red carpet event at a local movie theater.

Each group’s videos should be short, 3 minutes or less, and must mention smart meters at least once. A smart meter is an electronic device that records consumption of electric energy in intervals of an hour or less and communicates that information at least daily back to the utility for monitoring and billing.

Some themes for the video may include solar energy, energy efficiency, saving the environment, lifestyle, technology, saving money, being smart, addressing special needs, etc.

“Our challenge is to find the right teams of high school and college students for this project, and they may have varied academic interests – including videography, STEM, drama, National Honor Society, and consumer science,” Gahris said.

The deadline for submitting team applications is Dec. 31, but may be extended. After which students will receive additional information regarding workshops and video submission deadlines.

Questions? Send an email to [email protected], or call (630)-545-9710.