Cannes: SR Socially Relevant Film Festival New York launches 3rd edition and opens Early Bird submissions during the Cannes Film Festival 2015!

SR Socially Relevant (TM) Film Festival New York wrapped its 2nd annual edition after week-long screenings of 53 films from 33 countries and four industry panels in March. SR Film Festival honored Albert Maysles posthumously with the Lifetime of Inspiration Award while the festival’s special Justice and Peace Award went to Israeli Filmmaker Guy Davidi (Five Broken Cameras) for his film High Hopes featuring a soundtrack by Pink Floyd.
 

SR Socially Relevant (TM) Film Festival NY, now in its 3rd year, is a film festival that focuses on socially relevant human interest stories and raises awareness to social problems by offering positive solutions through the powerful medium of cinema. SR Socially Relevant (TM) Film Fest NY shines the spotlight on filmmakers who tell compelling, socially relevant narratives across a broad range of social issues without resorting to gratuitous violence and violent forms of movie making. The film categories include shorts, documentaries, narrative features as well as scripts in competition.

According to Festival Founding Artistic Director Nora Armani, “The festival is a movement for the promotion of socially relevant film content not just a week-long series of screenings. We strongly believe in the power of cinema for positive social change, and we work hard in rewarding filmmakers who chose to tell socially relevant stories.” In view of this the festival curates screenings throughout the year and secures an annual presence at the Cannes Marché Doc Corner with a selection of Docs from its slate.

After a successful and expanded 2nd edition in 2015 the SR team is now looking forward to organizing the 3rd edition that will take place in March 2016. In Cannes, the team is busy with meetings with potential sponsors, new partners, and is keen on inviting film offices of countries rich with Socially Relevant (TM) film content to become the focus of its 3rd edition. New submissions open Monday May 18. The discount code: CAN15 offers Early Bird entries a further discount.

For more information on the festival, the industry panels, how to be involved as a partner, sponsor, panelist, jury, and filmmaker, visit the festival’s website: www.ratedsrfilms.org or contact the festival team at: ratedsrfilmfest@gmail.com

Direct contact during Cannes or to set up an appointment call: +33 (0) 6 52 61 19 62

BREAKING News!

The festival team officially offered the Grand Prize trophy to winner of the festival’s Grand Prize in the Narrative Feature Category, The Challat of Tunis directed by Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania during the Cannes Film Festival yesterday, May 17, at 4:00 pm at the Cinema du Monde stand where the director has a new film project in development. The Challat of Tunis won a week-long run at the Quad Cinema, newly owned by Cohen Media Group, in April.

The winners in the other categories:

Lighter than Orange, directed by German filmmaker Matthias Leupold won the Best Documentary Award of the festival as a DVD-VOD distribution deal offered by festival partner Cinema Libre Studio of Los Angeles.
 

The Documentary and Narrative shorts Mamma är Gud directed by Maria Bäck from Denmark and Zacharie Doesn’t Live Here Anymore directed by Alberto Segre from Spain and France, won digital distributions deal with festival partner IndiePix and scriptwriting software by Final Draft.

SR Socially Relevant Film Festival New York also awarded its annual Vanya Exerjian Award – Empowering Women and Girls to E’ Stata Lei (It Was Her), directed by Francesca Archibugi, for her film treating the issue of violence against women. For the second year in a row, the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC) presented an award to one of the films, and the winner this year was We Cannot Go There Now, My Dear directed by Carol Mansour.

The scriptwriting jury selected, Steppin’ Out by Steve Bensinger as winner. The award is a certificate from Final Draft and free inclusion in InkTip a website where producers look for their next projects.

Contact: www.ratedsrfilms.org or the festival at: ratedsrfilmfest@gmail.com

Contact during Cannes: +33 (0) 6 52 61 19 62