When Canadian director Gary Marcuse set out to make a film about China's environmental protection, he didn't expect to return with an optimistic story. But that's what he got.

After four years of production in China and Canada, his documentary Waking the Green Tiger: A Green Movement Rises in China on Wednesday won a Grantham Award of Special Merit, which includes $5,000 in cash.

Established in 2005, the award is funded by Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham through their Boston-based Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, which supports communication and collaboration in environmental protection.