Given this week's theme on waste, I am sharing an initiative that I have found inspiring in relation to the digital environmental impact. Dr. Laura Marks (currently teaching at Simon Fraser University, where I did my undergraduate degree) has been interested in calculating the environmental footprint that results from streaming video, which is continually ramped up as higher-quality images are advertised on streaming sites. For Dr. Marks, a possible alternative is for filmmakers to utilize the aesthetic with small file films. Consequently, the Small File Media Festival was developed by Simon Fraser University, which I had the pleasure of attending when in Vancouver this past summer. Here, instead of low-quality being seen in a negative light, filmmakers lean into the pixelated look, incorporating it in their works ranging from narrative to experimental. On the big screen, the effect is even more striking, simultaneously highlighting the content and the materiality of the digital mode of transmission. Recently, it has been announced there will also be a Small File Photo Festival launched at The Photographer's Gallery in the United Kingdom, demonstrating that the idea is garnering attention internationally.
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