Vegan Movies Win Big at Major Film Festival

Three vegan films walked away with awards from the 50th annual Worldfest-Houston International Film Festival. The three short films—titled Alena & Gizmo, The Rescue, and This is Rowdy Girl Sanctuary—were created by Australian filmmakers Chee Wei Tay from De Claffer Films and Alana Tompson from Black Ant Films. Though the word “vegan” wasn’t used, the three films documented various parts of the animal-rights movement. “The majority of the population still considers the vegan word ‘taboo’ and will mentally switch off or stop watching once there is any mention of the V word,” Tay—whose work has been featured on National Geographic—explained. “I’m trying to reach out to those audiences.” The event drew 4,700 entries from 70 countries and marked the first time Tompson—who previously worked for Animal Planet—submitted her work to a festival. “I got into film to make a difference in the world and Earthlings is the film that made me want to be a filmmaker” Tompson said. “I see film as one of the most powerful mediums for change, it can connect you to a global audience and allow people access to information that they might not encounter in day to day life.” The duo is currently working on future vegan-themed projects to further promote compassion through the medium of film.