October 17 – 27, 2019
May 29, 2019 Late Deadline
Email I Phone: +1 650 724-5544 I CAW/UNAFF Stanford Arts Sweet Hall Building 416A 590 Escondido Mall Stanford, CA 94305-3023 United States I Website I Facebook I Twitter I Profile on filmfestivals.com I SUBMIT
Established twenty two years ago, UNAFF celebrates the power of films dealing with human rights, environmental themes, population, migration, women’s issues, refugees, homelessness, racism, health, universal education, war and peace. UNAFF offers a unique opportunity to view documentaries that are rarely screened, to become familiar with global problems, and to acquire a better understanding of the means to address these problems.
22nd UNAFF (UNITED NATIONS ASSOCIATION FILM FESTIVAL)
October 17-27, 2019 Palo Alto, East Palo Alto, San Francisco and Stanford University - celebrates the power of international documentary films dealing with human rights, the environment, refugees, famine, homelessness, racism, disease control, women's issues, children, universal education, war and peace.
This year’s theme SCALES OF JUSTICE continues our two decades long celebration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, emphasizing the fight for justice and exploring possible paths emanating from it into the future.
UNAFF was established in 1998 to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It was founded by Stanford educator and film critic Jasmina Bojic. UNAFF is an international documentary film festival held from October 17-27, 2019 in Palo Alto, East Palo Alto, San Francisco and Stanford University.
As one of the oldest solely documentary film festivals in the US, UNAFF has grown and earned the respect of audiences and filmmakers alike for its fearless independence and integrity. In addition to providing early outlets for films, many of which later went on to win major awards and accolades, UNAFF prides itself in creating a community forum for discovery and dialogue about different cultures, issues and solutions.
Each year that the UNAFF has been held, the festival has screened films from all over the world - Asia, the South Pacific, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas. The festival has attracted a broad audience with regards to ethnicity, many finding the screenings to be a rare chance to see the state of human rights and culture in their own native countries. Last year UNAFF jurors carefully reviewed over 600 submissions. Our final program consisted of 60 films related to issues from almost 60 countries.
UNAFF screened some of the most awarded and talked about documentaries in the industry including seven that went on to win Academy Awards ("Panama Deception," "Thoth", "The Blood of Yingzhou District", "Freeheld", "Taxi to the Dark Side", "Inocente" and "Saving Face") and thirty that were nominated ("Regret to Inform", "Genghis Blues","Long Night's Journey Into Day", "LaLee's Kin: The Legacy of Cotton", "Promises", "Daughter from Danang","When Abortion was Illegal", "Twist of Faith", "God Sleeps in Rwanda", "War /Dance", "Trouble The Water", “Salim Baba”, “The Garden”, “Burma VJ”, “China’s Unnatural Disaster – The Tears of Sichuan Province", "The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers", "Rabbit a la Berlin", "Gasland", "Killing In the Name", "Which Way Home", "Waste Land", "The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of The Civil Rights Movement" and "Karama Has No Walls", "Facing Fear", "King’s Point", "Prison Terminal: The Last Days Of Private Jack Hall", "White Earth" and "Dirty Wars", "The Poster Girl" and "Last Day of Freedom").
Documentaries often elicit a very personal, emotional response that encourages dialogue and action by humanizing global and local problems. To further this goal, UNAFF hosts academics and filmmakers from around the world to discuss the topics in the films with the audience, groups and individuals who are often separated by geography, ethnicity and economic constraints.
Apart from bringing the best international documentaries to our audiences during the festival days each October, we have developed multiple year-round programs which engage a growing segment of our community. Our popular “UNAFF Traveling Film Festival” has taken place in San Francisco, Berkeley, Monterey, Santa Cruz, Davis, Saratoga, Sonoma, Sebastopol, San Diego, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Honolulu, Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington DC, New York, Burlington, Bellevue, Miami, La Crosse, Fryeburg, Houston, Denver, Chapel Hill, Durham at Duke University, New Haven at Yale University, Waukesha at University of Wisconsin, Boston and Cambridge at Harvard University and internationally in Paris, Venice, Belgrade, Phnom Penh and Abu Dhabi.
Through UNAFF and Kids and UNAFF in Schools programs we have devoted our attention to the young, while the wiser among us are addressed by the UNAFF for Seniors program. The UNAFF Panels program provides a platform for some of the best experts addressing challenging topics and our UNAFF Café maintains a steady supply of interesting films and informal discussions. Utilizing already defined public spaces dedicated to diverse interests, our collaboration with libraries through the UNAFF in Libraries program brings together documentary films and the love of books. Our UNAFF Archive offers a plethora of research material for students of film, politics and international relations. UNAFF With Veterans brings documentaries to veterans and their families, while UNAFF Women’s Salon is a forum where women can gather informally for active discussions in a supportive and engaging environment.
UNAFF gives five cash awards: the UNAFF Grand Jury Awards for Best Documentary, Best Short Documentary, UNAFF Youth Vision Award, UNAFF/Stanford Video Award for Cinematography and UNAFF/Stanford Video Award for Editing.
UNAFF has won two WAVE Awards for best promotional trailer and was nominated for a CreaTVe Award. Also, MovieMaker Magazine listed UNAFF twice as one of the “Top 25 Festivals worth the Entry Fee.” Furthermore, UNAFF won the prestigious Earl W. Eames Award for innovatively combining new technologies with traditional media. As an acknowledgment of the 10th anniversary, UNAFF received the “Community Treasure Award” from Stanford University President John Hennessy for its contribution in promoting dialogue and education about different cultures and issues. At the occasion of its 20th anniversary UNAFF was awarded a COMMENDATION from the Board of Supervisors of the County of Santa Clara. For the last seventeen years the Mayor of Palo Alto has proclaimed the festival days as UNAFF Week, consistently recognizing the significance that UNAFF has for the community. Also, UNAFF received the Academy Foundation Grant for the UNAFF and Kids program and its Founder and Director received the prestigious UNESCO Fellini Medal.
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