Latinitas Magazine

Girls Impact the World Film Festival comes to Austin

posted March 28, 2019 | in Entertainment by Christine Bolaños

Women and girls are breaking barriers in all sectors of society and in a variety of professional industries. Among these is documentary filmmaking, where women are sharing global stories of importance with the nuance and compelling angles that make their films stand out and encourages viewers to take action toward a better world.

Fresh off the heels of South by Southwest, the Austin community is preparing for the Girls Impact the World Film Festival from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. at St. Andrew’s Dell Fine Arts Center in Austin, on Sunday, April 14.

The festival showcases short films created by young filmmakers from around the world that touch on a variety of global issues. Topics include education for girls, immigrants and refugees, poverty alleviation, violence against women, sex trafficking, redefining beauty and more. The event is open to the public and ticket sales benefit Austin nonprofit Connecther, which provides a platform to invest in projects that better the lives of women and girls across the globe.

Each year, a panel of prestigious industry judges reviews and selects 30 finalists to be considered for awards on the day of the event. This year’s lineup includes longtime festival supporters Elizabeth
Avellán, an Austin-based film producer, philanthropist Eloise DeJoria, philanthropist and award-winning Twilight actress Nikki Reed and The Vampire Diaries star and festival sponsor Ian Somerhalder. Joining them are Candice Wilson of Code Black Films and Socie Bacon.

“As always, we were so impressed by the passion and range of the film submissions from across the U.S. and the world,” said Lila Igram, founder of Connecther in a press release. “More than 200 girls – and 39 young men who entered – are using their creativity and activism to bring attention to issues that impact women – and communities – worldwide.”

Films entered for this year’s competition represent a record-breaking 42 countries. The finalists’ films will be screened during the Red Carpet Awards Ceremony and during the April 14 daytime program.

Finalists are as follow:

JUDGES’ CHOICE TOP 5

A Film for Gugu
by Aida Namukose
African Leadership Academy, South Africa 

Dignity
by Rachel Deva Rani Dharmapalan
Oakland School for the Arts, USA 

Lucía
by Gerardo Torres Hernández
Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Mexico 

We Could Be Champions Too
by Novera Hasan Nikkon
Jagannath University Dhaka, Bangladesh 

What I Love Most
by Nguyen Thi Kieu Oanh
Academy of Journalism and Communication, Vietnam

GLOBAL IMPACT Dilemma by Diana Senator Lyoto Catholic university of health and allied sciences (CUHAS), Tanzania In Search of Rekha Hasda by Hasanul Hoq and Abu Owazed Sah Showmik Jagannath University, Dhaka, Bangladesh Surviving Burns by Mallika Sehgal FLAME University, India

GREEN IS (ENVIRONMENT) Ecovillage Brachoua by Fatima Mouhammou Abdelmalek Essady University, Morocco Introduction to Reusable Menstrual Cups by Taryn Everdeen Paston College, United Kingdom What I Love Most by Nguyen Thi Kieu Oanh Academy of Journalism and Communication, Vietnam

HONEST BEAUTY Girls and Dolls by Megan K Palmer SUNY Geneseo, USA Make Me Divine by Bobbi Broome Kent State University, USA Pitt Soley by Rigodon Soeurette Faculte d’Ethnologie, Haiti The Skin Tone Rule by Amanda Gordon New York University, USA #BuyOurProduct by Sharlene Richards and Cailyn Hoertz Savannah College of Art and Design, USA

ENDING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN GONE by Haythem Makhlouf ISIMA, Tunisia She Matters by Suhayl Omar Riara University, Kenya Surviving Burns by Mallika Sehgal FLAME University, India

STAND UP MEN Stand Up Men  by Emily Seshadri University of London, United Kingdom Tumaini by Ishara Musimwa Gentil & Nadege Cibogo Felista Université Catholique de Bukavu and Université Officielle de Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo We Could Be Champions Too by Novera Hasan Nikkon Jagannath University Dhak, Bangladesh

LET GIRLS LEARN A Film for Gugu by Aida Namukose African Leadership Academy, South Africa Aya’s Home by Inaya Ahmed St. Stephen’s Episcopal School, USA Bangladesh’s Girls by Mallika Sehgal The Lawrenceville School, USA Dilemma by Diana Senator Lyoto Catholic university of health and allied sciences (CUHAS), Tanzania In Search of Rekha Hasda by Hasanul Hoq and Abu Owazed Sah Showmik Jagannath University, Dhaka, Bangladesh

BEST FILM PRODUCTION A Heist of One’s Own by Pubali (Priya) Ghosh Savannah College of Art and Design, USA Roles Reversed by Olivia Lovito Savannah College of Art and Design, USA Ruza by Raashi Metkari FAMU International, Czech Republic

WOMEN IN TECH Change the World by Promoting Girls in STEM by Lilia Becker Shipley School, USA GEMS: Girls Empowered by Math & Science by Sadie Price-Elliott Sussex County Technical School, USA The Science Behind the STEM Gender Gap by Tiffany Fang High Technology High School, USA

GEMs CHOICE Child Marriage Robbed Me of My Childhood by Suzete Da Graça André Eduardo Mondlane University, Mozambique Lucía by Gerardo Torres Hernández Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Mexico She Matters by Suhayl Omar Riara University, Kenya

MOST INNOVATIVE SOLUTION As Girls / As Women  by Gillian Ryan Dittmer Rider University, USA Aya’s Home by Aidan Ellis St. Stephen’s Episcopal School, USA Ecovillage Brachoua by Fatima Mouhammou Abdelmalek Essady University, Morocco One Letter or Other by Natalia Stefanni and Aguilar Fernandes PUC-Campinas, Brazil

PEOPLE’S CHOICE GONE by Haythem Makhlouf ISIMA, Tunisia Lucía by Gerardo Torres Hernández Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Mexico Silently Sorry by Meghan Montminy Pelham High School, USA Tumaini by Ishara Musimwa Gentil & Nadege Cibogo Felista Université Catholique de Bukavu and Université Officielle de Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo

Tickets are $25 for the day program, $35 for the evening awards program, $10 for students and $100 for VIP all-access tickets. The day program features panels and film screenings from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. $25,000 in awards will be presented for this year’s winning submissions at the evening Red Carpet Awards program.

Female filmmakers, business leaders, activists, and philanthropists will share inspiring words throughout the day. For tickets, visit Eventbrite.  For more information on the Girls Impact the World Film Festival, including full list of festival panels to be announced, visit www.connecther.org/gitw/.