Global Film Initiative

The Global Film Initiative (GFI) is a non-profit film organization that supports cinematic works from developing nations and promotes cross-cultural understanding through an innovative use of film and non-traditional learning resources. Its most notable programs are the [http://www.globalfilm.org/global_lens.htm Global Lens Film Series] --a traveling film-series that premieres annually at the Museum of Modern Art, New York and is accompanied by educational screening-programs for high school students--and the [http://www.globalfilm.org/programs.htm Granting] program, which has awarded numerous grants to narrative film-projects from around the world, many of which have been nominated as official country selections for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film category of the Academy Awards.

Established in 2002, the Global Film Initiative was founded by Susan Coulter Weeks and is advised by a board of directors, and a film-board composed of filmmakers such as Mira Nair, Lars Von Trier, Pedro Almodovar, Bela Tarr, Carlos Reygadas, Christopher Doyle and Djamshed Usmonov. In 2004, it entered into a partnership with First Run Features for distribution of all films in the Global Lens Film Series, and in 2006 it moved its offices from the West Village of New York, New York to the Potrero Hill district of San Francisco, California (USA).

GFI Programs

Showcasing up to ten narrative feature-films annually, [http://www.globalfilm.org/global_lens.htm Global Lens] is a traveling film series composed of cinematic works from developing nations or regions (i.e. Africa, Latin America, Asia, Middle East, Oceania, etc.). Premiering annually at the Museum of Modern Art, New York in late-January, following its premiere the series is screened in fifteen to twenty cities across the United States, in collaboration with various cultural and cinematic organizations and institutions, before going into general distribution through GFI's distribution-partner, First Run Features.

The [http://www.globalfilm.org/acquisitions.htm Acquisitions] program acquires eight to ten feature-length narrative films per year for presentation in the Global Lens Film Series. Films acquired by GFI are discovered through the Granting program and also through independent festivals and sales-initiatives, such as the International Film Festival Rotterdam, Berlinale and CineMart, and all films are selected for their artistic excellence, authentic self-representation and accomplished storytelling. Documentary and/or short films are not considered.

The [http://www.globalfilm.org/programs.htm Granting] program awards up to twenty grants each year to filmmakers whose projects are nearing completion or in post-production. Projects awarded grants by the Global Film Initiative are often acquired for presentation in the Global Lens Film Series, and since its inception, the Granting program has supported the production of a number of award-winning films, many of which have been nominated as official country selections in the Foreign Language category of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences' Awards Ceremony (Oscars).

* [http://www.globalfilm.org/distribution.htm Distribution]
* [http://www.globalfilm.org/education.htm Education]

"(Films listed in alphabetical order)"

Global Lens 2008

*"All For Free" by Antonio Nuić, Croatia, 2006
*"The Bet Collector" by Jeffrey Jeturian, The Philippines, 2006
*"Bunny Chow" by John Barker, South Africa, 2006
*"Thee Cutodian" by Rodrigo Moreno, Argentina, 2006
*"The Fish Fall in Love" by Ali Raffi, Iran, 2006
*"Kept and Dreamless" by Vera Fogwill and Martín Desalvo, Argentina, 2005
*"The Kite" by Randa Chahal Sabbag, Lebanon, 2004
*"Let The Wind Blow" by Partho Sen-Gupta, India, 2005
*"Luxury Car" by Wang Chao, China, 2006
*"Opera Jawa" by Garin Nugroho, Indonesia, 2006

Global Lens 2007

* "Another Man's Garden", from Mozambique
* "Dam Street", from China
* "On Each Side", from Argentina
* "Enough!", from Algeria
* "Fine Dead Girls", from Croatia
* "Kilometre Zero", from Iraqi-Kurdistan
* "Of Love and Eggs", from Indonesia
* "The Sacred Family", from Chile
* "A Wonderful Night in Split", from Croatia
*Global Shorts 2007, from Various Directors

Global Lens 2006

* "Almost Brothers", from Brazil
* "Café Transit", from Iran
* "Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures", from Brazil
* "In the Battlefields", from Lebanon
* "Max and Mona", from South Africa
* "The Night of Truth", from Burkina Faso
* "Stolen Life", from China
* "Thirst", from Israel/Palestine
* Global Shorts 2006, from Various Directors

Global Lens 2005

* "The Buffalo Boy", from Vietnam
* "Daughter of Keltoum", from Algeria
* "Fuse", from Bosnia-Herzegovina
* "Hollow City", from Angola
* "Kabala", from Mali
* "Lili's Apron", from Argentina
* "Uniform", from China
* "What's a Human Anyway", from Turkey
* "Whisky", from Uruguay

Global Lens 2004/2003

* "Angel on the Right", from Tajikistan
* "Khorma", from Tunisia
* "Mango Yellow", from Brazil
* "Margarette's Feast", from Brazil
* "Nothing More", from Cuba
* "Rachida", from Algeria
* "Shadow Kill", from India
* "Ticket to Jerusalem", from Palestine
* "Women's Prison", from Iran
* "Wretched Lives", from Philippines

External links

* [http://www.globalfilm.org/ The Global Film Initiative]
* [http://www.firstrunfeatures.com/glc1.html GFI & First Run Features: Special Collections: Global Lens]
* [http://www.moviescopemag.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=49&Itemid=53 Global Film Initiative: Making a Reel Difference (MovieScope Magazine)]
* Global Festival Of Films On Peace And Spirituality. http://www.aaft.com

ource

* [http://www.globalfilm.org/ The Global Film Initiative]