This year’s theme for our Film Festival is "In Pursuit of Social Justice: Following in the Footsteps of our Founders.”
The Founder of Metropolitan College of New York (MCNY), Audrey Cohen, was a trailblazing woman, who started the Women's Talent Corp in 1964 to address the shortages of services in communities of color and the lack of training available to poor women. Using an experiential learning model that taught academic concepts around a purpose, the Women's Talent Corp grew into Audrey Cohen College and ultimately into Metropolitan College of New York. MCNY's mission is to provide superior, experientially-based education that fosters personal and professional development, promotes social justice, and encourages positive change in workplaces and communities, and it continues to empower students through education.
Cherice Bedford, one of the Co-Founders of our Film Festival, created the MCNY Annual Short Film Festival with a classmate while a student in the MCNY Media Management MBA Program, as a live case study to create a venue to screen smaller films made by filmmakers of color or filmmakers from traditionally marginalized groups who often could not otherwise get their films entered into the more traditional film festivals. Since its inception, each year the MCNY Annual Short Film Festival has incorporated panel discussions in addition to the screening of the films to highlight critical social justice and business issues facing filmmakers and other media industry professionals. Cherice passed away last year, but never stopped believing in advocating for social justice.
We are dedicating this year's Film Festival to her memory and all films should address topics that embrace social justice themes. Outside of a time limit of 15 minutes, we are looking for creative quality short films that are consistent with and/or celebrate the theme of the festival. FILMS MUST REFLECT THE THEME OF THE FESTIVAL TO BE CONSIDERED FOR SCREENING IN THE FESTIVAL. This is a film festival for student and amateur filmmakers, looking to give opportunities to those who don't traditionally get a platform or venue. Also keep in mind this is a school run event so excessive profanity, nudity, hate or violence inducing content will definitely not be selected to be screened.
Founded in 1964 by educational pioneer Audrey Cohen, Metropolitan College of New York has been dedicated to helping students achieve their academic dreams for almost 60 years. The only one of its kind in the country, the one-year ACBSP accredited Master of Business Administration in Media Management at MCNY is a unique Purpose Centered Education program geared towards achievement-oriented, media professionals. The curriculum balances traditional MBA competencies with those particular to the media industry. To accommodate working professionals, classes meet on evenings and weekends. Additional information can be obtained on our website at www.mcny.edu.
*Money!
*On site judging of finalist and ability to connect with leading professionals in the film industry.
*New York City film festival public screening
*The opportunity to meet industry insiders as well as network with a community of artists, business people and film enthusiasts.
*Prizes to show our appreciation for and recognition of the filmmaker’s participation. Recognition will be given to the three top entries scoring the highest by our professional industry jury panel!