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A SHOW FOR A CHANGE FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES JULY 2019 AWARD WINNERS FOR SOCIAL IMPACT FILMS

Long Beach, CA – August 15, 2019 – A Show For A Change today announced several winners for its monthly global film festival, celebrating social impact films from around the world. The awarded films include projects from around the world and were created by numerous celebrated filmmakers.

“As we prepare to launch the first impact streaming platform, Movikarma, we’re proud to recognize these powerful films that advance the urgent causes of our time,” said Jared Milrad, founder and president of A Show For A Change. “Our festival continues to attract a strong diversity of socially conscious films from around the world. This month’s awarded films address timely causes, including gun violence, education, human rights, and environmental justice.”

This month’s winners include:

● Creativity Award: Make America Safe. Directed by Blanche Baker. Make America Safe is a musical send-up of the 2nd Amendment. What if in the next few years citizens were required to carry weapons in order to ensure the safety of the public? What if the motto “If everyone is armed there will be no more crime” became the law of the land? This movie musical takes a sardonic look at this possible future. Using the premise of a news commentary show, the film examines the kind of scenarios that could arise in this world. With music composed by Andy Peterson it sheds light on the rationales that could lead to such a future. In the end, it is students who question the validity of rights trumping reason. Watch the trailer here.

● Storytelling Award: Welcome to the King Family. Directed by Zach King. This is the true story of how Zach and his wife began their adventure in Foster Care and how they started their family a few years ago.

● Storytelling Award: White Rope. By Mriidu Khosla. White Rope is a rescue story of Keme - a slaughterhouse goat, by an innocent boy who is yet to understand the concept of religion, god and sacrifices in a country like India, where communities are closely bound to their cultural roots, not knowing much of the deteriorating impact it has on nature.

● Cinematography Award: The Other Half. Directed by Lalith Rathnayake. In a rural village in Sri Lanka, the family well becomes poisoned by agricultural chemicals. This subsequently leads to the untimely death of Ruwansiri's father who develops chronic kidney disease, leaving his mother works to support the family. At school, he struggles to understand his lessons in a rigid educational system that cannot go beyond rote learning. As an escape from the toxic environment around him, Ruwansiri finds solace in music. Can his passion help him overcome his circumstances? Watch the trailer here.

● Social Impact Award: LIST(e)N. Directed by Juliana Tafur. With hatred and polarization on the rise around the world, LIST(e)N invites people with complex personal stories and contrasting views on the topics of immigration, abortion and guns to get to know each other. Can complete opposites put their differences aside, listen to each other and connect at a human level? In a true social experiment that develops in front of our lens, the film captures participants putting their judgment, hatred and finger pointing to rest. Could understanding why people believe what they believe shake up our perception, open up our hearts and lead to understanding? Watch the trailer here.

“We are honored that our film has been selected for the Cinematography Award at A Show For A Change Film Festival!” said Harshika Sahni, Marketing Director - Shraddha Media Network. “The Other Half (Vishama Bhaga) highlights the importance of a child's right to an education within a developing nation plagued by a man-made environmental disaster. Our film focuses on the importance of a shift from Sri Lanka's current teacher centered education system to a more meaningful student-centered education system. Another key issue woven into our film is the tragic environmental crisis taking place in rural Sri Lanka. Our producer was inspired to create this film as he was traveling through a rural part of the country and came upon the story of a woman whose farmer husband passed away due to the ground drinking water being polluted through use of substandard agro-chemicals and fertilizers. This crisis has resulted in the death of thousands of farmers throughout the nation. The farmer's wife begged our producer, not for money, but to tell the story of their lives so that the world would know their plight.”

“I truly appreciate having the efforts of those who worked on the film be recognized by A Show For Change. The wonderful people at New York Film Academy who were involved in this project joined together to express their commitment to this important subject. There is a need for stricter gun control laws and I’m proud this film shines a light on what it means to make America safe.” Blanche Baker

Founded by Jared Milrad - a filmmaker, advocate, and entrepreneur who has worked for President Barack Obama and advocated for numerous social causes - A Show For A Change Film Festival raises up our planet's most compelling stories and inspiring voices. The film festival’s goal is to build a world filled with greater empathy and shared prosperity.

A Show For A Change invites filmmakers who share a passion for changing the world through the power of storytelling to submit to our monthly film festival. We seek diverse, engaging stories that address societal, environmental, and cultural issues. To apply for our next film festival, filmmakers can submit their projects by August 30, 2019 using this link: https://filmfreeway.com/ashowforachange

About A Show For A Change Film Festival

With 265+ global submissions from 27 countries, A Show For A Change has awarded some of the most creative, groundbreaking, and inspiring stories highlighting social issues since launching its monthly festival in December 2017. The company’s mission is to celebrate socially impactful films through the art of storytelling and advocate for enduring social change. It embraces films that challenge the status quo and stand up for urgent causes like human rights, animal rights, and the environment.

Learn more about our current projects and monthly global film festival at ashowforachange.com

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