Socially Relevant Film Festival 2018, NY

By Mabel Pais

“(This year) we have been able to incorporate films from more (countries) and have been able to hone in on specific social issues in more depth.”
Nora Armani, SRFF’s Founder-Artistic Director

The SR Socially Relevant Film Festival™ 2018 New York (SRFF 2018) kicks off its Fifth Season at Cinema Village in downtown Manhattan, New York and neighboring venues such as SVA Social Documentary Film Campus and CRS (Center for Remembering and Sharing), March 16 – 22, 2018.

What is SR?

The SR Socially Relevant™ Film Festival New York was founded by award-winning actress Nora Armani. Its mission is to shine the spotlight on filmmakers who tell compelling, socially relevant™, human interest stories, across a broad range of social issues. The festival was created as a response to the proliferation of violence and violent forms of storytelling in media and entertainment. SR™ believes in the power of cinema in raising awareness towards social issues and promoting positive social change.

Festival Founder and Artistic Director Nora Armani says, “SRFF 2018 is very happy with our fifth year’s selection. We have been able to incorporate films from more (countries) and have been able to hone in on specific social issues in more depth. This year’s festival goes back to basics: the filmmakers, the films, and the issues, with a number of interesting partners and sponsors accompanying us.”

The Official Selection to be screened in the heart of Greenwich Village covers a diverse mix of five narrative features, 15 documentaries, 38 shorts, and more. There will also be a script-writing contest with readings from finalist scripts. The Festival includes expert panels on film industry and social issues. The films represent over 22 countries.

Opening night will take place Friday, March 16, 2018, 7:00 PM with the narrative feature film Lou Andreas-Salomé: The Audacity to be Free (Germany). A stunning period piece on the 19th-century female novelist, poet, and essayist, the film follows Salomé as she shuns traditions in pursuit of intellectual perfection.

Among the other selected narrative feature films are:

Darcy (USA), Find Your Voice (Australia, New Zealand), Hot Country, Cold Winter (Armenia, The Netherlands, Germany).

Highlights from the selected documentary features include Cause of Death: Unknown (Norway), Sands of Silence: Waves of Courage (Mexico, USA), Shiners (Canada, Japan, USA), Stitching Palestine (Lebanon), Talien (Italy), Tampon, Our Closest Enemy (France).

Themes for selected short film groupings include Ageing Gracefully, Dreamers Having a Nightmare, Sustainable Communities, Where is Home? Whose Disability?

Spotlight Panel: Women | Gender Equality | Human Trafficking

Monday, March 19 features a keynote evening event celebrating women, in partnership with Apne Aap – an organization that rescues women and girls in India from sex-trafficking – including a series of films from India and elsewhere that promote empowering women and young girls. A panel discussion follows, lead by Ruchira Gupta.

A number of workshops and panels complement the film screenings as the educational component of the festival, and these touch upon such topics as editing, distribution, pitching for film projects, filming in New York from the Governor’s Office for Film, Low Budget Film Production at SAG-AFTRA, Measuring the social impact of films, and others.

The script writing competition features readings with actors, in the presence of the scriptwriters, from the seven finalist scripts. Other workshops and panels include industry forums, an engaged theatre workshop, a live music performance to silent films, and more.

Presented with Gear VR provided by Samsung, the festival presents cutting-edge VR/360º experiences that push the boundaries of immersive storytelling. Among the six selected pieces is The Great – a VR Great White Shark Experience, which shows firsthand the grace and beauty of this misunderstood and endangered creature.

The festival will close on the evening of March 22 with a glistening Awards Ceremony and screening of the winning films at Cinema Village, and party for the filmmakers at Doux Supperclub featuring appearances from NYC local filmmakers and industry veterans.

The winners of each category are awarded special prizes in the form of trophies created by support from individuals and film industry and professional partners.

Spokespersons and guests of SR Socially Relevant™ Film Festival NY include Amy Goodman of Democracy Now, Erin Brockovich, Martin Sheen, Pulitzer Prize and Tony award-winning writer Robert Schenkkan, prolific and best-selling French novelist Marc Levy, Academy Award Nominee and Emmy Award Winner Guy Davidi, American TV commentator and author Gretchen Carlson, and Liaison Officer of Tibet and the Dalai Lama, Kunga Tashi.

Partner organizations and schools receive substantial discounts. Contact ratedsrfilms@gmail.com, if interested.

For more information on the Film Festival, or to purchase tickets, visit www.ratedsrfilms.org.

NJSO presents MOZART’S REQUIEM

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO) and Music Director Xian Zhang present Mozart’s Requiem, March 15–18 in Newark, Princeton and Morristown. A trio of vocal pieces, including a pair of a cappella works performed by the Montclair State University Singers, open the program.

Performances take place on Thursday, March 15, at 1:30 pm and Saturday, March 17, at 8 pm at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark; Friday, March 16, at 8 pm at the Richardson Auditorium (RICHAUD) in Princeton; and Sunday, March 18, at 3 pm at Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC) in Morristown.

Continuing a multi-year partnership with the Curtis Institute of Music to present its finest student musicians, the NJSO welcomes a quartet of vocal soloists from the Institute—soprano Emily Pogorelc, mezzo-soprano Kendra Broom, tenor Roy Hage and baritone Doğukan Kuran—for Mozart’s masterwork.

The program opens with Mozart’s Ave verum corpus, followed by Joseph Rheinberger’s Abendlied and Ben Parry’s Flame—two a cappella works showcasing the Montclair State University Singers under the direction of Heather J. Buchanan.

NJSO Accents include #ChoraleYou—a “sing in” in NJPAC’s lobby following the March 17 concert, when audience members will get to give their own performance of the NJSO concert’s opening piece—Mozart’s Ave verum corpus. Montclair State University’s Heather J. Buchanan will conduct a brief rehearsal and performance that is open to all ticket-holders. More information is available at www.njsymphony.org/choraleyou.

The Orchestra hosts its annual food drive and will collect non-perishable food donations at all performances. More information is available at www.njsymphony.org/fooddrive.

For more information on the concerts and to purchase tickets online, visit www.njsymphony.org, or call 1. 800.ALLEGRO (255.3476).

(Mabel Pais writes on The Arts and Entertainment, Social Issues, Health and Wellness, and Spirituality)