Events
Stories from the Field: The 2nd Annual Documentary Film Festival
By Linda Lopez, MCA-I NY
Mar 3, 2006, 10:10

Presented by the Media Communications Association - International, New York Chapter and the United Nations Department of Public Information. Two days of film screenings, panel discussions, and awards. Sat., April 22, and Sun., April 23, 2006, Noon to 9:00 p.m. Nearly 200 films submitted by United Nations agencies around the world and — for the first time this year — the general public. Finalists announced on February 15. Tickets go on sale in March. Location: Tishman Auditorium, The New School, 66 W. 12 St., NYC.

In its first season as a public competition, Stories from the Field: The Second Annual United Nations Documentary Film Festival more than doubled its previous entry record, receiving 180 films from countries on five continents. Nations represented include Burkina Faso, Canada, China, Germany, India, Iran, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Africa, Venezuela, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

NOTE: This year for the first time, the competition was also open to filmmakers from the general public, who were invited to compete for Best Public Film (60 minutes and under) and the Audience Choice Award for Best Film. Nearly 200 UN and public films were submitted. The Call for Entries is now closed.

Selected entries will be screened in the Tishman Auditorium, The New School, 66 West 12 Street, New York, NY 10011, and announced to the media. The filmmakers of the selected entries will be invited to attend or send a representative to the Festival.

Panel discussions at the Festival will feature the filmmakers, and invited representatives from the United Nations, The New School, and MCA-I NY.

About Stories from the Field Documantary Film Festival

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-UN filmmakers expressed interest in joining the competition that it was expanded in 2006 to include works from the general public.

The Festival’s theme, the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, remains the same. 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


• Develop a global partnership for development