United Nations Film Festival 2006

United Nations Association Film Festival UNAFF, whose theme for this year is "SPARKS OF HUMANITY", is an international documentary film festival held from October 25-29, 2006 at Stanford University, with pre-screenings in San Francisco on October 18 and 22 and in East Palo Alto on October 20.

The festival was established in 1998 to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It was created with the help of members of the Stanford Film Society as an independent project of the United Nations Association (UNA), a grassroots, community based, nonprofit organization.

Conceived nine years ago, United Nations Association Film Festival UNAFF celebrates the power of international films and videos dealing with human rights, environmental survival, women's issues, protection of refugees, homelessness, racism, disease control, universal education, war and peace. United Nations Association Film Festival UNAFF offers a unique opportunity to view extraordinary documentaries, to become familiar with global and local issues, and to acquire a better understanding of the means to address these issues.

Over three hundred submissions from all over the world have been carefully reviewed for the ninth annual United Nations Association Film Festival UNAFF. The jury has selected 31 films to be presented at this year's festival. The documentaries selected showcase topics from Afghanistan, Albania, Australia, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Colombia, China, Congo, Ethiopia, Germany, France, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kenya, Mexico, Nepal, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Palestine, Peru, Russia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Spain, the UK and the USA.

Encouraged by overwhelming positive response from the audience and the media, we established a Traveling Film Festival which has taken place in San Francisco, Berkeley, Monterey, Santa Cruz, Davis, Sonoma, San Diego, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Honolulu, Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington DC, New York, New Haven at Yale University, Waukesha at University of Wisconsin, Boston and Cambridge at Harvard University.

Last year they introduced for the first time three awards - The Stanford Video Award for Cinematography and The Stanford Video Award for Editing (sponsored by Stanford Video), as well as the United Nations Association Film Festival NAFF Grand Jury Award. Our relentless efforts in promoting awareness of global issues have been rewarded at the annual UNA Convention in New York, where UNAFF received the prestigious Earl W. Eames Award for innovatively combining new technologies with traditional media. We are also proud that UNAFF has twice won WAVE Awards for the best trailer.

Main Festival Screening:

October 25-29
Stanford University, Palo Alto

Traveling Festival Screenings:

September 22
New York

September 30
Durham at Duke University

November 4
Santa Rosa (Sonoma County)

November 10-12
Monterey

November 12 & 13
LaCrosse at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse

November 18 & 19
Cambridge, Harvard University & Boston

Related Links:
Understanding Philanthropic Travel
Teaching your Children Philanthropy
Why Exquisite Safaris?