Spring 2023: A Show For A Change Film Festival Winners
Spring 2023: A Show For A Change Film Festival Winners
August 5, 2023
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Jared Milrad, Founder and President
Movikarma
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MOVIKARMA ANNOUNCES SPRING 2023 AWARD WINNERS FOR SOCIAL IMPACT FILMS
Los Angeles, CA – August 5, 2023 – Movikarma, a leading nonprofit organization that empowers underrepresented talent and spotlights impactful stories, today announced several winners for its A Show For A Change Film Festival, celebrating social impact films from around the world. The awarded films include projects that address a variety of social impact issues and were created by celebrated global filmmakers.
“We’re proud to recognize these powerful films that advance the important causes of our time,” said Jared Milrad, Founder and President of Movikarma. “Our festival continues to attract a strong diversity of socially conscious films from around the world. This season’s awarded films address timely causes, including mental health, climate change, reproductive freedom, and much more.”
This season’s winners include:
Sin Refugio. Directed by Roberto Bosoms and Andrea Cordoba. Social Impact Award
When the Mexican government decides to open an agricultural water dam in Chihuahua to pay a water debt to the United States, local farmers battle the military to protect their harvest and livelihoods.
Destiny Concealed: The Eagle Academy Public Charter School Story. Directed by Karen Alston. Best Non-Fiction Award
For twenty years, the heart and soul of Eagle Academy Public Charter School has been one of its fearless founders, Cassandra S. Pinkney. As a young mother raising a child with special needs in urban America, Ms. Pinkney overcame innumerable obstacles to become one of Washington, D.C.’s most acclaimed educators. Indeed, one of her lasting legacies is the way in which she pioneered high-quality, early childhood education by prioritizing both academic and emotional empowerment of her pupils.
On June 4, 2001, Ms. Pinkney, Dr. Joe Smith, and a diverse group of education, business and medical leaders submitted a proposal to the D.C. Public Charter School Board to create the first charter school for grades PK3 – K in the nation’s capital. That application was approved in March 2003 and five months later, Eagle Academy opened its doors in the sixth Ward of Washington, D.C.
Destiny Concealed recounts the experiences of those who helped turn Ms. Pinkney’s vision into a reality. Throughout the documentary, viewers bear witness to the first-hand accounts of triumphs and tragedies that made Eagle Academy into the incredible institution it is today.
As the age-old adage goes, “it takes a village.” This film seeks to pay tribute to the village of dedicated students, staff, parents, and community members who have helped mold a generation of scholars in the 20th year of Eagle Academy.
This is our story. This is Destiny Concealed.
A New LVHS: Pioneering Animal Welfare in the Lehigh Valley. Directed by Tyler Wursta. Spotlight Award
The Lehigh Valley Humane Society is not the Humane Society from five or ten years ago. Not only has the physical location been completely renovated, but the people and their goal is much more focused: Find our friends a Forever Home. Learn more about what the shelter has done over the past two years, let alone five to pioneer animal welfare as a whole.
Central State Hospital: An Oral History. Directed by Stephen Price. Spotlight Award
Central State Hospital was once the largest Mental Institution in the United States. In 2010, as the hospital slowly closed down its services and care for clients moved out into community-based programs, Daniel McDonald and Stephen Price produced this film to document the history of the hospital and the lives of the people it touched. In many ways, the story of Central State is the story of Mental Healthcare in America.
Quotes from the Award-Winning Filmmakers
"We are deeply honored and grateful to accept the Social Impact Award. Through the lens of Refugio Maldonado, a local farmer in Chihuahua, our film reveals the growing threat of conflict over our most precious resource, water. We hope our film helps expose the urgent need to protect our environment and heritage."
Roberto Bosoms, Director, Sin Refugio
"I was not sure what to expect, truly, but am very glad I submitted. This documentary took much time and care for a cause I truly believe in supporting. Receiving this amazing recondition bolsters me to create more! Thank you for your encouragement!"
Tyler Wursta, Director, A New LVHS: Pioneering Animal Welfare in the Lehigh Valley
"The people who worked on this film are so grateful to the A Show For A Change Film Festival for awarding Central State Hospital: An Oral History the Spotlight Award. As the largest mental health institution at one time, the story of Central State Hospital really is the story of mental healthcare in America."
Stephen Price, Director, Central State Hospital: An Oral History