In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, Ashley Dawson and Brooklyn Demme founded Truth 2 Power in order to bring people together at the intersection of community, education, and film.

We honor film in the words of Jonathan Demme: “you don’t need to go to film school to make a movie; all you need is a camera and a story to tell”.

In the Resiliency and Grace Film Festival by Truth 2 Power, we will honor, celebrate, and learn from filmmakers who articulate messages of divine justice, freedom, sovereignty, and faith in the language of film.

We invite submission in the following categories:

Visions of Justice: All fictional films created to share a vision of justice are encouraged to submit.

Films of Freedom: This category is for films which engage with freedom: seeking it, celebrating it, getting it. Only films written, directed, or otherwise led by descendants of survivors of the middle passage are welcome here.

Deep Roots: This category is for films which carry indigenous history, culture, wisdom, and voice of Turtle Island. Only films written, directed, or otherwise led by people indigenous to turtle island are welcome here.

(Filmmakers from “First Contact Tribes” of the eastern woodlands are strongly encouraged to submit.)

Films of Faith: If your film is made in good faith, this category is for you.

(Filmmakers from the Caribbean, Africa, Latin America, South-East Asia, and elsewhere in the Global South are strongly encouraged to submit.)

This Film Festival is possible thanks to the support of the Haverstraw African American Connection, Rivertown Film, and The Nyack Center.

Awards & Prizes

Trophies will be awarded for the winners of our feature film categories (Visions of Justice; Films of Freedom; Deep Roots; Films of Faith).

T-Shirts will be awarded for the winners of our short film categories (Visions of Justice; Films of Freedom; Deep Roots; Films of Faith)

Travel stipends may be awarded to filmmakers who come to present their work in-person (2/17/25-2/22/25).

Rules & Terms

(1) Works in any language other than English must have English subtitles at the time of submission.

(2) Short films must be under 60 minutes. Features must be 60 minutes or longer.

(3) Films will be screened electronically via the provided .mp4 file. The format required for the festival is a 1080P file encoded in H.264 in a .mp4 container.

(4) All filmmakers must have obtained any necessary clearances to exhibit the film at the time of submission. Upon submission filmmakers (i) accept responsibility for obtaining any and all clearances necessary to exhibit their work at the festival; (ii) acknowledge they have the rights necessary to exhibit their film at the festival; and (iii) indemnify and hold harmless the festival, its parent company, its affiliates, and subsidiaries and any of their respective directors, officers, employees, and representatives against any claim arising out of exhibition of their film at the festival.

(5) Filmmakers give Truth 2 Power the right to screen submitted films in-person (in Nyack, NY and elsewhere).

(6) Filmmakers give Truth 2 Power the right to screen submitted films virtually.

(7) Filmmakers give Truth 2 Power use clips and stills of submitted films for promotional purposes.

Accepted Works

Works invited to participate in the festival will be shown in the series/program determined most appropriate by the programmers and at their sole discretion.

All accepted works must fulfill the following requirements:

1) Filmmakers must (i) accept responsibility for obtaining any and all clearances necessary to exhibit your film at the festival; (ii) have the rights necessary to exhibit your film at the festival; and (iii) indemnify and hold harmless the Resiliency & Grace Film Festival, Truth 2 Power, its affiliates, and subsidiaries and any of their respective directors, officers, employees, and representatives against any claim arising out of exhibition of your film at the festival.

(2) GFF exhibition formats:

(2)(a) 1080P resolution encoded in H.264 in a .mp4 container.

(3) All files must be delivered to the address(es) designated by the Festival one exhibition copy of the invited work. We recommend you submit via a storage platform service such as Google Drive, in order to ensure complete and proper delivery of your entry. You are responsible for any costs of delivery in connection to any service used for online storage or delivery of electronic files to the festival.

(4) Submit all promotional materials requested including but not limited to (trailer, stills, poster, director bio, director picture)