Zaina Quadri, a recent graduate of Seven Lakes High School, has won the $1,000 University/College Scholarship Award in the One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest for her short, animated film "To the Core." The announcement came on August 6 from the international film contest, which is based in Chicago, Illinois. Although the University/College Award usually goes to a live action film, this year an animation won out. The three-minute film “To the Core” takes place in the future with an environmentally damaged Earth, which humans have abandoned in favor of Mars. Eddie the astronaut visits the abandoned planet, falling into a hole that leads to Earth’s core. There, he has a humorous yet serious conversation with the Earth, personified as our planet's real-life inner core with a scolding, motherly attitude. And she has something to say: Earth feels abandoned by humans who left her surface for Mars. “Nothing was ever enough. You just kept taking. All that innocent life you destroyed,” she complains.

In Quadri’s contest submission, she writes, “. . . I made this film to express my environmental concerns. So, like any other normal person, I took Earth's giant planet core and made her able to scold humans about climate change. Because what better way to get people to take care of the planet than getting it straight from the source?” She hopes to remind others that our planet and the life on it are irreplaceable.

Quadri also receives a matching gift of $1,000 to direct to an American non-profit that supports the theme of her film. She chose Earthjustice.

During the past year, the One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest received 428 submissions from 58 countries and 35 states. Germany, South Korea, Poland, Argentina, Guinea, India and Taiwan will be represented among winners, along with the U.S. states of Texas, Illinois, and California. The Global Awards Celebration will take place at 10 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 27, in person at Davis Theater, 4614 N. Lincoln Ave., in Chicago, Illinois. Adam Joel of Aggressively Compassionate will host this special event, introducing the winners before their films premiere

The One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest asks students from age eight to 25 to create a three- to eight- minute environmental film that inspires change or action. Animated or stop-motion films can be a minimum of 45 seconds long. Students receive individualized feedback from a robust jury of film and environmental experts. The 2027 contest opens soon on Film Freeway with a deadline of June 25. Learn more about the contest by visiting the organization’s website at https://www.oneearthfilmfest.org/contest-details.