MAX Diversity Film Festival REUNION
The MAX Diversity Film Festival (MDFF), an initiative of the MAX project, is pleased to invite you to the
MAX Diversity Film Festival REUNION
That will take place online on the 15th of December 2021 at 3:00 P.M. CET (Brussels, Berlin, Rome) / 2:00 P.M. GMT (London) / 4:00 P.M. TRT (Istanbul) /9:00 A.M. ET (New York, DC)/ 18:30 P.M IST (New Delhi), in the occasion of the International Migrants Day.
PLEASE REGISTER HERE TO PARTICIPATE
AGENDA of the event
In this reunion, we want to hear the messages from filmmakers and debate together how storytelling through art can communicate to the audience the large variety of stories and realities of people on the move around the world for a better-nuanced narrative about migration.
Speakers confirmed:
- Christin Schuchardt, Barcelona a welcoming city – Best amateur short film
- Leidi Turatti, Brazilians around the world – Audience awards
- Safia Kessas, Henriette’s way – Best professional short film
- Shams Abou El Enein, Samos The faces of our border – Best professional long film
- Jasmin Preiß, Sweet Meadow – Finalist professional long film category
Background
The MAX project is an initiative funded by the European Commission aiming to create a new narrative about migration. Evidence-based reports about the connection between migration flows and socioeconomic development in Europe but also storytelling, the creation of positive messages for the media and dialogic encounters between native-born population, citizens of migrant background and newcomers are the key areas the project has been working on for almost 3 years.
As part of this mission, we organised the MAX Diversity Film Festival (MAXDFF) to provide both amateur and professional filmmakers with a place to display their voices, stories and experiences of migration – embracing diversity, discussing challenges, inequalities and discrimination, but also celebrating the power of multiculturalism and communities united in diversity.
With the conviction that films are one of the most powerful communication tools, using the imaginary to evoke emotions while communicating values and messages, we launched this non-for-profit competition in May 2021. A total of 477 creators from 82 countries around the globe have responded to our call. After a thorough assessment by the MDFF Committee, the expert evaluation of the 10 members of our jury, and the vote of almost 2,300 different viewers received during the Watch&Vote phase, the 5 winners were announced on November 5th.
On December 15th, on the eve of celebrating the International Migrants Day on Saturday 18th of December, the MDFF hosts the reunion of its first edition to listen to the migration stories behind the films.
From the struggle and fight for regularisation and security of undocumented migrants in cosmopolitan European cities such as Brussels or Barcelona, the isolation of a migrant women victim of gender-based violence and her way out of an abusive relationship, to the real stories of people living at the border of the Schengen area, in the Greek island of Samos and those of different Brazilian women finding themselves around the world. The five winners of the first edition of the MDFF share different stories that are just a snapshot of the many varying realities that the millions of migrants experience around the globe.