PLURAL+ Festival and Awards: December 3, 2015
Paley Center for Media New York
Selected from more than 240 video submissions from 59 countries worldwide, PLURAL+ 2015 is thrilled to announce its three International Jury Winners:
- UN DROLE DE COCO, Belgium, Camera-etc. – Category up to 12 years old
- AIRSTRIP, Canada, Ms. Haylee Nottaway, with Wapikoni Mobile – Category 13-17 years old
- BLUE, Philippines, Mr. Breech Harani – Category 18-25 years old
PLURAL+ is an international youth video festival focusing on migration, diversity and social inclusion. PLURAL+ – a joint initiative between the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) – aims to foster dialogue, partnership and action on critical issues and opportunities faced by youth worldwide. PLURAL+ recognizes youth as powerful agents of social change, and supports cooperative efforts to reduce tension in a world too often characterized by conflict and division. Since its launch in 2009, PLURAL+ has received nearly 1,200 video submissions from around the world.
The three winners will attend the 2015 edition of PLURAL+ Festival and the Award Ceremony at the Paley Center for Media in New York on December 3. They will be joined by a number of youth filmmakers winning awards from PLURAL+ partner organizations, traveling from as near as New York and as far as Pakistan, Germany, the UK, Afghanistan, and Mexico. Collectively, 25 videos were chosen from the 2015 entries to receive awards from PLURAL+ and its partner organizations.
Un drôle de coco is a collaborative, animated creation of 22 primary school aged children from Belgium. As the protagonist—a young chick raised by a family of penguins—grapples with identity and definitions of family, the animated short discusses diversity and inclusion, in a nod to the broader issues of migration and combating stereotypes.
Airstrip, created by a young Canadian filmmaker, Haylee Nottaway, and the support of Wapikoni Mobile, delves into the realities facing the Anishnabe tribe in Quebec, Canada, grappling with the effects of territorial disputes, preservation of tradition and respect for aboriginal culture. In her film, Nottaway addresses the challenges faced by her own community and territory, raising attention to ongoing debates on aboriginal rights, land ownership and inclusive societies globally.
Blue, an animated short, was written, designed and produced by Breech Asher Harani. In its crisp, succinct portrayal of challenges youth face upon arrival to new countries and communities, Blue opens a discussion on positive migration, mental health, youth opportunity and embracing new-found diversity. Harani is an independent filmmaker and photographer, born and raised in a small municipality of Compostela Philippines. Harani’s award-winning documentaries have focused on issues of social acceptance, climate change, LGBT rights and community cohesion.
The PLURAL+ 2015 Festival will also feature a series of media and social justice workshops hosted by partners including UNICEF and hitRECord TV series. In partnership with Show of Force and the Tribeca Film Institute, two panels – open to the public- will discuss the use of youth-produced media in refugee settings and in incarceration. A virtual reality video shot in Jordan’s Za’atari refugee camp, produced by the UN Millennium Campaign, will also be featured during the festival. PLURAL+ 2015 full schedule of the afternoon panels and screenings as well as of the evening awards ceremony, followed by a reception, will be announced in the coming weeks. For more information on PLURAL+, please visit pluralplus.unaoc.org.
To RSVP to PLURAL+ 3rd of December Festival and Awards Ceremony, please do so here.
Please direct further media requests and questions to the PLURAL+ team at plural@unaoc.org.
