Concludes 2nd Edition with Tributes and Awards
NEW YORK, NY—After a successful weeklong festival that included issue-oriented film screenings and thought-provoking industry panels, the SR Socially Relevant Film Festival, which showcases socially relevant films with human interest stories, wrapped up its second year with great fanfare.
Taking place from March 16-22, 53 films from 33 countries were screened at Tribeca Cinemas, Maysles Cinema, and School of Visual Arts. The festival opened at CUNY Graduate Center’s Proshansky Auditorium with Hüseyin Karabey’s “Come to My Voice,” sponsored by the German Consulate General of New York and co-hosted by SR Film Festival and MEMEAC CUNY.
A highlight of the festival were the four Armenian films that were showcased in commemoration of the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide, screening on Sat., March 21, at Tribeca Cinemas in a standing room-only event. The films included Kay Mouradian’s “My Mother’s Voice,” a 25-minute film revolving around the true story of a 14-year-old girl orphaned during the Armenian Genocide; followed by David Hovan’s “Born in Adana,” a 15-minute film centering around the surrender of Adana to Turkey by the French; then Victoria Harwood Butler-Sloss’s and Edith Weil’s “Cyprus Summer 1974,” a 24-minute film revolving around a 13-year-old-girl writing in her diary about waking up to the sound of gunfire and war on a beautiful summer morning in July 1974; and finally Shahen Nazarenko’s “24/I Confess With Faith,” a 15-minute film that combines the two worlds of a monastery and city bustle in Artsakh (Karabagh).
“The sequence was specially designed to give a chronologic feel for the events of Armenian history starting with the genocide and ending with present-day Armenia and Artsakh, passing through Adana and Cyprus,” said Nora Armani, festival founder. “It is important to portray Armenian culture at international events and in perspective, thus throwing the spotlight on the genocide and related important historic events to enlighten the non-Armenians.”
Following the screenings, there was a well-received question and answer session with Mouradian, Victoria Harwood Butler-Sloss and Edith Weil, conducted by Armani.
This year’s SR Socially Relevant Film Festival featured films from more than 30 countries, including Armenia, Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Haiti, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kurdistan, Lebanon, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Palestine, Patagonia, Peru, Romania, Russia, South Korea, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Tibet, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE, and the United States.
The Closing Awards ceremony took place at the Fourth/Botequim Restaurant on Sun., March 22. Many awards were given out, including the Lifetime of Inspiration in Memoriam Award to Albert Maysles, the Justice and Peace Award to Guy Davidi (“5 Broken Cameras”), and the Vanya Exerjian–Empowering Women and Girls Award to Francesca Archibugi.
The competition winners were the German, French, Swedish, and Lebanese films. Read about the winners and the program by visiting www.ratedsrfilms.org.
Inaugurated in March 2014 by actor/filmmaker Armani to combat violent forms of storytelling, the successful first edition of the festival opened with a program of 55 films from 18 countries at the Quad Cinema.
“Most films today encourage misrepresentation, reinforce stereotypes, and create an escapist passive attitude in youth and adults towards major social issues. In reverse, simply by focusing more on socially relevant themes, positive social change can be promoted through the powerful medium of cinema,” said Armani.
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A thousand cheers to Nora Armani!
Նորա ճան, սգանչելի աշխատանք ես տանում:
Արի մեզ Եղեգնաձորում այցելի:
Արդեն 10 տարի է անցել քո այցելության մեր Ottawaյի տան:
congrats to Nora! Thank you for including us, it was a privilege to be amongst such thought provoking films. love to you xx