UN announces second annual documentary film festival

Aiming to showcase how people around the world are addressing poverty, hunger, disease, civil unrest, trafficking and injustice as well as what the United Nations is doing to help, the world body has announced its second annual documentary film festival, to be held in New York in April.

Launched in 2005, the Festival was originally conceived as a showcase for films produced by United Nations offices and agencies around the world. However, so many non-United Nations filmmakers expressed interest in joining the competition that it was expanded in 2006 to include works from the general public.

Opening up to public competition, the Festival more than doubled its previous entry record, receiving 180 films from 16 countries on five continents. Nations represented include Burkina Faso, Canada, China, Germany, India, Iran, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Africa, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

“Stories from the Field: The Second Annual United Nations Documentary Film Festival,” presented by the Media Communications Association-International, New York Chapter and the UN Department of Public Information, will take place on Saturday, 22 April, and Sunday, 23 April, at The New School in New York. It will feature film screenings, panel discussions with the filmmakers and award presentations.

The Festival carries the same theme as last year, namely the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a set of time-bound antipoverty targets. To compete, films must reflect one or more of the eight goals: eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; achieve universal primary education; promote gender equality and empower women; reduce child mortality; improve maternal health; combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; ensure environmental sustainability; and develop a global partnership for development.