UNAFF celebrates the power of films dealing with human rights, environmental themes, population, migration, women’s issues, refugees, homelessness, racism, health, universal education, war and peace. UNAFF has screened some of the most awarded and talked about documentaries in the industry including seven that went on to win Academy Awards and twenty-three that were nominated.

This year UNAFF jurors reviewed almost 600 submissions. The final program will present 70 films from all over the world. To complement the screenings UNAFF is partnering with more than 70 community organizations for seven panels on topics such as climate change, the impact of social media and arts, how dance can transcend barriers of language and race, immigration and children, hate crime and LGBT issues, women poverty and inequality, interracial marriage and tolerance, human trafficking and modern slavery, scientific studies on the effect of meditation on the brain, philanthropy and social change and the passion for producing human rights documentaries.

As one of the oldest solely documentary film festivals in the US, UNAFF has grown and earned the respect of audiences and filmmakers alike for its fearless independence and integrity. In addition to providing early outlets for films, many of which later went on to win major awards and accolades, UNAFF prides itself in creating a community forum with year-round programs for discovery and dialogue about different cultures, issues and solutions.

Our popular UNAFF Traveling Film Festival has taken place in San Francisco, Berkeley, Monterey, Santa Cruz, Davis, Saratoga, Sonoma, Sebastopol, San Diego, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Honolulu, Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington DC, New York, Burlington, Bellevue, Miami, La Crosse, Fryeburg, Houston, Durham at Duke University, Chapel Hill, New Haven at Yale University, Waukesha at University of Wisconsin, Boston and Cambridge at Harvard University and internationally in Paris, Venice, Belgrade, Phnom Penh and Abu Dhabi.

Through UNAFF and Kids and UNAFF in Schools programs we have devoted our attention to the young and to the wiser among us with the UNAFF for Seniors. The UNAFF Panels program provides a platform for some of the best experts addressing challenging topics and our UNAFF Café maintains a steady supply of interesting films and informal discussions. UNAFF Archive offers a plethora of research material for students of film, politics and international relations.

UNAFF gives five awards - UNAFF Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary, UNAFF Grand Jury Award for Best Short Documentary, UNAFF Youth Vision Award, UNAFF/Stanford Video Award for Cinematography and UNAFF/Stanford Video Award for Editing.

UNAFF has twice won the WAVE Awards for best promotional trailer and was nominated for a CreaTVe Award. Three years ago MovieMaker Magazine listed UNAFF as one of the “Top 25 Festivals worth the Entry Fee.” Furthermore, UNAFF won the prestigious Earl W. Eames Award for innovatively combining new technologies with traditional media. As an acknowledgment of the 10th anniversary, UNAFF received the “Community Treasure Award” from Stanford University President John Hennessy for its contribution in promoting dialogue and education about different cultures and issues. For the last eleven years the Mayor of Palo Alto has proclaimed the festival days as UNAFF Week, consistently recognizing the significance that UNAFF has for the community.

Most recently, UNAFF received the prestigious Academy Foundation Grant for the UNAFF and Kids program, which had its fifth presentation last year.

UNAFF is an independent project of the UNA-USA, a nonprofit organization.

By making a tax-deductible donation to UNAFF you will directly give a chance to tens of thousands of people to see these important films that bring us together as a diverse community. Please send your gift (check payable to UNAFF) to: