We are delighted to announce the 18th UNAFF (United Nations Association Film Festival), which was originally conceived to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It was founded by Stanford educator and film critic Jasmina Bojic with the participation of the Stanford Film Society and the UNA Midpeninsula Chapter, a community-based nonprofit organization.

UNAFF celebrates the power of international documentary films dealing with human rights, the environment, protection of refugees, famine, homelessness, racism, disease control, women's issues, children, universal education, war and peace.

The 18th UNAFF will be held from October 15-25, 2015 in Palo Alto, Stanford University, East Palo Alto and San Francisco. This year's theme RUNNING OUT OF TIME continues the ongoing celebration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and focuses on time-sensitive aspects of the Millennium Development Goals.

In 2000 all UN member states and at least 23 international organizations committed to help achieve these Millennium Development Goals by 2015: to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, achieve universal primary education, promote gender equality and empower women, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases, ensure environmental sustainability and develop a global partnership for development.

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-seven that were nominated.

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, Denver, 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 the 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. The UNAFF Archive offers a plethora of research material for students of film, politics and international relations and UNAFF with Veterans brings documentaries to veterans and their families.

Last year UNAFF jurors reviewed almost 600 submissions. The final program consisted of 70 films from all over the world. To complement the screenings UNAFF partnered 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.

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. Also, 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 twelve 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 and its Founder and Director received the prestigious UNESCO Fellini Award.

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:

UNAFF
P.O. Box 19369
Stanford, CA 94306

or online through the secure PayPal module at the left side of this page.

We hope that the variety of film programs and other related events during UNAFF 2015 will present you with a truly exciting and memorable experience.

Warmest regards,

Jasmina Bojic
Founder and Executive Director
UNAFF and UNAFF Traveling Film Festivals