The United Nations Association Film Festival (UNAFF), one of the oldest documentary film festivals in the nation, concluded its 27th annual presentation on Sunday, October 27, 2024, after 11 days of programming in the Bay Area. The festival is one of the nation's only purely documentary film festivals, which educates and engages the local community by presenting topics that transcend the boundaries of film alone. 

The 27th UNAFF took place October 17-27 in Palo Alto, East Palo Alto, San Francisco, and at Stanford University with 60 documentary films discussing “SHARED HUMANITY,” an exploration in our common destiny and the issues paving our path, or standing in its way. This year’s theme continued UNAFF’s enduring devotion to the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

FIlms presented at the festival this year included representation from 57 percent women filmmakers and 54 percent filmmakers of color. There were 4 World Premieres, 1 North American Premiere, 9 US Premieres, 11 West Coast Premieres, and 16 Bay Area Premieres.

UNAFF Founder and Executive Director Jasmina Bojic remarks:

"We are deeply grateful to our wonderful filmmakers and guests that continue to make our festival stand out. Each year, we develop our festival theme to further educate and engage the local community by including topics that are currently relevant. From our attendees to our filmmakers and Visionary Award Recipient, Matthew Modine, everyone who participated in the festival really accentuated an incredible atmosphere of 'Shared Humanity.'" 

Award Winners

UNAFF recognized five festival films at the awards ceremony on Sunday, October 27 for achievement in the following categories: 

GRAND JURY AWARD FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY

TAX WARS

GRANDY JURY AWARD FOR BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY

SLUDGE: A PFAS UPRISING

AWARD FOR BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Ibrahim Nash'at, HOLLYWOODGATE

AWARD FOR BEST EDITING

Jen Bradwell, MAKE A CIRCLE

YOUTH VISION AWARD

RADIO DADAAB

Visionary Award

Additionally, Matthew Modine received the Visionary Award for his decades of dedication to protecting our oceans and environment and his enduring commitment to producing impactful human rights documentaries. He joins an esteemed list of previous Visionary Award recipients, including Academy Award winner and United Nations Messenger of Peace Michael Douglas; Congresswoman Barbara Lee; human rights activist, actor, and singer Harry Belafonte; singer and activist Joan Baez; Academy Award nominee and women’s rights advocate Dorothy Fadiman; Silicon Valley pioneers William Draper III and Franklin “Pitch” Johnson; philanthropist Juliette Feeney-Timsit; and former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Press assets are located at http://www.unaff.org/2024/press.html

For more information, visit http://www.unaff.org/

For help with press coverage and information, please contact publicist2024@unaff.org. 

Save the Date

The 28th United Nations Association Film Festival will be held October 16-26, 2025. We look forward to seeing you again next year!

About UNAFF

Founded in 1998 by Jasmina Bojic, film critic and educator, UNAFF (United Nations Association Film Festival) is an international documentary film festival originally established to honor the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Over the years UNAFF has screened some of the most awarded and talked about documentaries in the industry, including eight that went on to win Academy Awards and 36 that were nominated. For more information about UNAFF, please visit https://www.unaff.org/2024/files/UNAFF2024_About.pdf.

The 27th UNAFF was presented from October 17-27, 2024 exploring the theme SHARED HUMANITY. UNAFF celebrates the power of films dealing with human rights, including environmental themes, women’s issues, racism, child welfare, war and peace. Over its 27 years, UNAFF and its year-round programs have attracted a broad audience from around the Bay Area, with many finding the screenings to be a rare chance to engage with different cultures and see the state of human rights around the world and at home. UNAFF promotes education, awareness, and social change through images, dialogue, and action.