Dr. Paula Serafini, Senior Lecturer in Creative and Cultural Industries at the University of Queensland Business School in London, contributed to promoting sustainability in the film industry by participating in the 'Pasturas' Film Festival held in Malargüe, Mendoza, Argentina, from May 14 to 17, 2025. This film festival is the world's only international film festival dedicated to Transhumance, the seasonal migration of livestock, which plays a crucial role in maintaining ecological balance and biodiversity. It highlights the environmental and cultural significance of transhumance, which was recently inscribed as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
MUTUA Project: Intersection of Culture and Environment
Dr. Serafini's participation in the festival was part of MUTUA, a collaborative initiative between the University of Queensland and the National University of Tres de Febrero in Argentina. MUTUA is a joint research and practice project focused on the intersection of culture and the environment.
During the festival, MUTUA launched a new environmental management guide for cultural organizations, developed by the consulting firm Nómadas. Dr. Serafini, along with Nicolás Weinszelbaum (National University of Tres de Febrero), María Virginia Avila (Nómadas), and Brenda Ferro (Nómadas), presented on MUTUA's activities and led a workshop for Latin American documentary filmmakers as part of the Mendoza Film Lab. This guide provides specific guidelines for sustainable operations in the cultural and arts sector, including practical advice on minimizing the environmental impact of film production.
This visit also marked the launch of a new pilot program coordinated by MUTUA and supported by the University of Queensland. This program aims to provide tailored environmental consulting to the Pasturas Film Festival itself. This work will be used to create a customized report to help review the festival's sustainability goals and operations. This is expected to play a crucial role in reducing the environmental impact of cultural events and laying the groundwork for more eco-friendly operations in the long term.
Transhumance: UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
Transhumance, the core theme of the Pasturas Film Festival, is a traditional pastoral practice where herders move livestock to different pastures according to the season. Beyond simply raising livestock, it is recognized as a sustainable agricultural practice that contributes to the natural ecosystem's cycle and preserves biodiversity. UNESCO recognized its value by inscribing transhumance as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2019. In several European countries, including Spain, Italy, Greece, and Austria, transhumance remains an important tradition, and it is actively practiced in South American countries like Argentina within their vast natural environments. The Pasturas Film Festival uses the medium of film to inform the public about the cultural and environmental importance of transhumance and raise awareness about the preservation of this tradition.
"Supporting Environmental Thinking with Practical Tools"
Dr. Serafini commented, "It was truly inspiring how film festivals like Pasturas bring together filmmakers, academics, and local communities around the themes of cultural heritage and sustainability." She added, "Through MUTUA, we are creating practical tools to support environmental thinking in the creative and cultural industries, and it's incredibly rewarding to see these tools being put into practice."
The MUTUA project is deeply connected to the University of Queensland's broader research area of 'Sustainability and Environmental Governance'. The University of Queensland actively conducts research on various environmental issues, including climate change, resource management, and environmental policy, and MUTUA aims to integrate this academic expertise into the cultural and arts sector to bring about practical change. Furthermore, this project reflects the University of Queensland's values of 'global citizenship' and 'social responsibility', contributing to the search for solutions for a sustainable future through international cooperation.
This participation in the Pasturas Film Festival served as an important opportunity to raise the crucial issue of sustainability not only within the Argentine film industry but also across the global cultural and arts community. Efforts to practice sustainability in various ways are expected to expand, including reducing the carbon footprint of film production, adopting eco-friendly studio operation methods, and incorporating environmental messages into film content itself. International collaborative projects like MUTUA will accelerate these changes and serve as a model demonstrating that culture and arts can be a significant driving force for a sustainable society.
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