mission
| submission | films
| schedule | tickets
| map | special
screenings sponsors | traveling
festival | support | volunteers
|press | links
| awards |
|
A unique festival showing four outstanding films dealing with issues in Brazil, Ethiopia, Kenya, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nepal, Sudan and the US that celebrates the efforts of documentary filmmakers to fight for justice and dignity for all people around the world. (Stanford, CA) The United Nations Association Film Festival, the world’s only independent public film forum for exploring UN related issues, presents its next traveling film festival event that will examine international conflicts, child labor, poverty, homelessness, hunger and the juvenile justice system. The 3rd UNAFF Traveling Film Festival New York (UNAFF TFF) will take place on September 23, 2005 at the New York Film Academy, 100 East 17th Street. 6:00 PM Reception 6:45 PM Introduction & HERO PSA I Session: 7:00 PM “Stolen Childhoods” 86’ (Brazil/Kenya/India/Indonesia/Mexico/USA) Directors: Leonard Morris and Robin Romano Producer: Leonard Morris This film places children’s stories in the broader context of the worldwide struggle against child labor. It provides an understanding of the causes of child labor, what it costs the global community, how it contributes to global insecurity and what it will take to eliminate it. Shot in seven countries—Brazil, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Nepal and the United States—the film includes slave and bonded labor footage never seen before. It has framing interviews with US Senator Tom Harkin and includes human rights advocates for children such as Bruce Harris, Pharis Harvey, Inderjit Khurana and Wangari Mathai. In the words of the children we see the effects of public policy, poverty, prejudice and multinational profit on the lives of our most helpless and exploited global work force. The film chronicles both stolen childhoods and the lucky former child laborers who can teach us how to create a more equitable world. (Filmmaker present) - Short Break II Session: 8:45 PM “A Great Wonder: Lost Children of Sudan” 61’ (Ethiopia/Kenya/Sudan/USA) Director: Kim Shelton Producers: Kim Shelton and Leigh Kimball More than two million Sudanese have died in the longest uninterrupted civil war in the world, now in its 20th year. Another five million civilians have fled their homes to escape the fighting. A Great Wonder: Lost Children of Sudan traces the extraordinary journey of three young Sudanese orphans, a fraction of the 17,000 so-called Lost Boys of Sudan, who have spent the majority of their lives either in flight from war or in refugee camps in Ethiopia and Northern Kenya. Having navigated the hazards of warfare, disease and starvation, their arrival and resettlement in Seattle, WA, is not your average immigration story. Over the course of 18 months, these youths have recorded their experiences through their own eyes and in their own words using digital video cameras. The resulting “diaries” serve as a personal thread throughout the film, incorporating first-hand accounts of their experiences in war with their radically different lives as immigrants in America. The film explores the concepts of loss, faith, community and freedom as it bears witness to the spirit that drives these young people to rebuild their lives. II Session: 9:50 PM “What Does A Person Deserve” 2’ (USA) Director: Ken Kimmelman This film asks the question first posed by Eli Siegel, an American poet and philosopher, and the founder of the philosophy known as Aesthetic Realism: “What does a person deserve by being alive?” The film is a montage of black and white photographs, choreographed to original music by composer Edward Green, and displaying the discrepancies that exist between the rich and the poor in the US, a highly stable and technologically advanced nation. Taken visually through the world of homelessness and hunger, each photograph becomes a vivid and powerful reminder of the injustice that exists in the modern world. (Filmmaker present) II Session: 10:00 PM “Juvies” 66’ (USA) Director: Leslie Neale Producers: Leslie Neale, Mark Wahlberg and John Densmore From award-winning documentary filmmaker Leslie Neale (Road to Return) comes this riveting look at a world most of us will never see: the world of juvenile offenders who are serving incredible prison sentences for crimes they either did not commit or were only marginally involved in. For two years, Neale taught a video production class at Los Angeles Central Juvenile Hall to twelve juveniles who were all being tried as adults. Juvies is the product of that class, which was a learning experience for both students and teacher– and becomes a learning experience for all of us, as we witness the heartbreaking stories of children abandoned by families and a system. Narrated by actor Mark Wahlberg, himself a former juvenile offender, Juvies follows the lives of a group of young people who will serve most, if not all, of their lives behind bars. What has gone wrong with our juvenile justice system? And can it be changed before more young lives are destroyed forever? Juvies offers no easy answers, but it will make you think long and hard about what democracy and justice really mean. About UNAFF Established eight years ago at Stanford University by film critic and educator Jasmina Bojic in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, UNAFF screens documentaries by international filmmakers dealing with topics such as human rights, environmental survival, women's issues, children, refugee protection, homelessness, racism, disease control, universal education, war and peace. UNAFF Traveling Film Festival Encouraged by overwhelming positive response from the audience and the media, UNAFF created a traveling film festival in 2000, which replicates the original festival in many of the 175 UNA chapters around the country. UNAFF Traveling Film Festival New York is organized and presented by the UNA New York Chapter, the UNA of New York’s Young Professionals for International Cooperation and the Young Professionals of New York City, the UNA Film Festival, the International Documentary Association Independent Television Service and the New York Film Academy. TICKETS Admission is $10 for students and $12 for the general public (per film session and the reception) or $15 for students and $20 for the general public for both sessions (all four films and the reception). Tickets can be purchased at the door beginning at 5:00 PM. LOCATION New York Film Academy, 100 East 17th Street 2nd floor. For more information about the UNAFF TFF New York, please call (212) 674-4300.
|
©2005 United Nations Association Film Festival (UNAFF)