Guidelines

Close the Tap in a nutshell

“Close the Tap: Films to Shut the Carbon Stream” is a free competition by Aequilibria S.r.l. – SB to raise awareness about climate change and promote action toward a low-carbon future. The atmosphere is like a bathtub where CO₂ keeps building up — and the water level is close to overflowing. To avoid this, we must “close the tap.”

Participants are invited to create a video that informs and inspires action, helping both professionals and citizens understand climate change, its causes, consequences, and urgency.

Video formats:

• Live-action video: up to 3 minutes

• Animated video: up to 2 minutes

By submitting, participants agree that Aequilibria may share their videos — always crediting the author — free of charge and for non-profit purposes, including social media, public events, workshops, and training sessions.

The prizes are proposed as follows:

  • Winning prize: 1.500 EUR
  • 2nd prize: 800 EUR
  • Special prize: 400 EUR
  • The contest aims to:
  • Motivate citizens, policymakers, businesses, and stakeholders to work together on climate change mitigation and adaptation.
  • Show that everyone — from civil society to companies to institutions — has a role in tackling climate change, by following laws and voluntary standards.
  • Promote a cultural shift toward awareness and action.

Video objectives:

  • Inform: explain climate change clearly and accurately.
  • Engage: highlight the need for collective action.
  • Inspire: encourage concrete actions for change.

Videos should make complex ideas easy to understand and show why taking action matters.

The target audience for these videos is broad and may include:

• Citizens with no prior expertise in climate change

• Organizations beginning their sustainability journey

• National, regional, or local authorities (ministries, agencies, municipalities)

• Environmental associations and professional networks

• Academics, scientists, and researchers

• Public authorities (e.g., transport, tourism, defense)

• Decision-makers, managers, socio-economic actors, climate professionals, and civil society

• Anyone interested in climate change

Tip: Indicate your chosen target audience in the application form so the jury considers it in the evaluation.

Rules of participation

The concept assigned for the 2026 edition is:

Greening our cities, reimagining our future

Participants are free to creatively interpret this concept, as long as their work is supported by sound scientific content.

  • We value authentic ideas and prefer videos that avoid fear-based messaging, using clear, engaging, and positive storytelling to raise awareness and inspire action:

LIVE ACTION VIDEO

  • The live action videos can be produced using all kind of techniques and styles.
  • Maximum duration: 3 minutes.

ANIMATED VIDEO

  • All animation techniques are welcome: 2D, 3D, stop motion, mixed media, or traditional.
  • Submissions should demonstrate a basic understanding of animation principles.
  • All styles are evaluated equally. More time-intensive techniques may receive a bonus.
  • Maximum duration: 2 minutes.
  • Audio may be in Italian or English. Subtitles are recommended, especially to make videos accessible for deaf viewers.
  • Other languages are also allowed but would need to be supported with subtitles in English.
  • Videos without speech (music only, no dialogue) are also accepted.

Submission deadline: March 31, 2026

  • Fill out the application form. You will be asked to include a short description and a link to your final live-action or animated video.
  • The link should be generated via WeTransfer (or a similar platform).
  • File format: .mp4
  • Maximum file size: 1.5 GB

Evaluation system

The jury is composed of the following experts:

Daniele Pernigotti – Expert on Climate Change

  • CEO of Aequilibria S.r.l. – SB
  • Chair of CEN/TC 467 “Climate change”
  • Italian delegate to ISO/TC 207/SC7 “Climate change”
  • Member of ISO/TC 207 Strategic Leadership Group (SLG)
  • Convenor of ISO/TC 207/SC7/WG8, responsible of the revision of ISO standard on Carbon Footprint of Product (ISO 14067)
  • Accreditation expert on climate change schemes, and collaboration with Accredia (Italy), ANAB (USA), ONAC (Colombia), and RvA (Netherlands)
  • Journalist on climate change and author of several books on climate change

Marco Toffanin – Expert in live action videos

  • Head of the multimedia unit at the Digital Learning and Multimedia Office, University of Padova
  • Specialist in multimedia production for education, research, and communication
  • Creator of hundreds of multimedia works and author of several scientific articles
  • Lecturer in multimedia communication at the University of Padova

Vincenzo Agosto – Expert in video directing and editing

  • Video director and editor with a background in computer engineering
  • Experienced in writing and directing short films, video clips, and documentaries
  • Trained at Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia (Rome)
  • Holds a Master’s degree in Screenwriting (Carlo Mazzacurati) from the University of Padova
  • President of Pluriart Association and Artistic Director of the Pluriart Film Festival (international short film festival)

Team of Aequilibria S.r.l. – SB – Group of expert environmental consultants with diverse backgrounds in carbon management

ROLE IN THE JURY

  • Marco Toffanin and Vincenzo Agosto: evaluation of live-action and animation categories
  • Daniele Pernigotti: evaluation of technical and scientific accuracy

JURY PROCEDURES

  • The jury has full and unquestionable authority over the evaluation and selection of winners.
  • Detailed evaluations will not be shared with applicants; feedback may be provided upon request.
  • Winners will be announced in April 2026 during the awarding ceremony in Padua, Italy. More details on the specific date and the event to follow. 

Exclusion Criteria

Videos will be excluded if they:

  • Do not follow the competition rules (theme, maximum duration, required documentation)
  • Fail to meet the conditions set out in these Regulations

Evaluation Criteria

  • Creativity and originality of the video
  • Quality of execution
  • Technical and scientific accuracy of the content

Decision-Making

  • Prizes will be awarded based on the final, indisputable judgment of the jury. The jury reserves the right not to grant awards in case the entries are of insufficient quality.
  • The Aequilibria S.r.l. – SB team will express an overall opinion on the works received.