The American Museum of Natural History's Margaret Mead Film Festival, occurring May 9-12, 2024, screens documentaries that increase our understanding of the complexity and diversity of the peoples and cultures that inhabit our planet. The festival has evolved with the times while maintaining its important history and has grown steadily to reflect the ever-evolving incarnations of storytelling, technology, and the growing awareness of other communities near and far. The Margaret Mead Film Festival aims to connect viewers to cultures and communities around the world, creating empathy and understanding through documentary, experimental films, animation, hybrid works, and more.
The Margaret Mead Film Festival aims to connect viewers to cultures and communities around the world, creating empathy and understanding through visual media. Every year thousands of filmmakers, scholars and moviegoers converge for over four thrilling days of screenings, conversations, and opportunities to connect.
The Margaret Mead Filmmaker Award recognizes documentary filmmakers who embody the spirit, energy, and innovation demonstrated by anthropologist Margaret Mead in her research, fieldwork, films, and writings. This award is given to a filmmaker whose feature-length documentary displays artistic excellence and originality of storytelling technique, while offering a new perspective on a culture or community. Filmmakers with works making their U.S. premieres at the festival are eligible. Films must be at least 60 minutes long to be considered for the Award.
The Audience Award is voted on by Margaret Mead Film Festival attendees. Films making their U.S. premieres at the festival are eligible.