In 2025, CineEco – Serra da Estrela International Environmental Film Festival took a small but significant step forward: for the first time, it welcomed volunteers. This debut reinforces what we have always believed in — the power of informed, critical and creative engagement — and now paves the way for the future.
Volunteering at CineEco is a way to get in touch with the ‘behind the scenes’ of an international event, but also an opportunity to engage with cinema, environmental issues, and the local and visiting community. This is not about undifferentiated support or purely operational tasks, but an experience of active participation, designed for people with diverse backgrounds, skills and sensibilities, capable of adding value to the festival itself. In 2025, this vision took shape through three people who applied and helped build the first edition of CineEco volunteering. Today, we give them visibility — because talking about this initiative also means talking about those who support it.
Jéssica Anastácio Jacinto
Between science and artistic creation, Jéssica builds bridges. Born in the region of Olhão and Ria Formosa, she graduated in Biotechnology from the University of Aveiro, where she also completed her master’s degree in Environmental and Industrial Biotechnology. Currently (2025), she is pursuing a PhD in Sustainable Chemistry.
Alongside his scientific career, he has developed a multidisciplinary artistic practice that combines words, images and sound, in constant dialogue with scientific language.
His work also extends to environmental education, nature conservation and active citizenship, with involvement in associations such as Agora Aveiro, and editorial and social intervention projects. At CineEco, he brought this transdisciplinary, attentive and committed perspective through his support for the Temporary Exhibition: The Life Cycle of Images.
Joana Silva
Born in the Ribatejo marshlands, with roots in Minho and Trás-os-Montes, and currently living in Matosinhos, Joana Silva’s career has been marked by communication, culture and human relations. She has a degree in Journalism, a postgraduate degree in Marketing and a master’s degree in Human Resources.
Throughout her professional career, she has worked in a variety of contexts, from customer service to cultural production, including working with children and young people. She currently works as a corporate communications consultant, developing internal communications projects and directing institutional videos, alongside her documentary photography practice.
Her participation in the Festival was multifaceted, with a special focus on documentary photography. He accompanied the social programme and various other moments and spaces of the Festival, recording them with a keen eye, in a work that may give rise to a future exhibition.
An experience lived with involvement and critical thinking, which reflects well the spirit of those who choose to volunteer at CineEco.
Sérgio Pereira
Born in Faro, with spells in Coimbra and Lisbon and his sights set on Trás-os-Montes, Sérgio Pereira’s educational background is marked by curiosity and versatility. With a degree in Communication Design, he deepened his interest in science through a master’s degree in Science Communication and is now preparing to begin a PhD in Communication Sciences.
With experience in digital marketing and collaborations with institutions linked to astrophysics and the space sector, he is also an avid film buff and regular festival-goer. At CineEco, he decided to get involved as a volunteer to better understand the structures that support cultural events with a strong environmental and sustainability dimension.
Although he had been following the festival from afar for several years, it was the formal existence of the volunteer programme that prompted him to take this step. On the horizon lies the desire to return — perhaps not only as a volunteer, but also with a project of his own.
An open invitation to the future.
This first year of experience has confirmed for us the potential of volunteering as a meeting place between the festival and people who share its values and decide to offer their time and knowledge. This is a path that CineEco intends to consolidate and deepen in future editions. — and we would like to take this opportunity to reiterate our invitation — always open on our website — to anyone who wants to join us, not only to support us, but to think, discuss and actively participate.
