Social Justice Film Festival

***Added COVID-19 announcement at the bottom of this description***
The Social Justice Film Festival returns for 2020 in partnership with popUPjustice, LLC to explore all aspects of social justice.
Based in Seattle, Washington, a city known for progressive politics, technical innovation and stunning natural surroundings, the festival brings together filmmakers from around the world to encourage interaction and engagement through film and events.

The festival will include programming and speakers that bring attention to social justice concerns in the world, and celebrate the stories of groups and people who are working for a better future. We will exhibit shorts and feature-length documentaries and narrative films from the U.S. and around the world.

Featured speakers for past programs have included author of "Dead Man Walking" Sister Helen Prejean, activist and actor Mr. Danny Glover, investigative journalist Will Potter, founder of Define American Jose Antonio Vargas, recording artist and educator DJ Cavem, activist and former captain of the Seattle Black Panthers Aaron Dixon, Yupik elder Bobby Andrew, activist and filmmaker Sanjay Rawal, BLM organizer Darnell Moore, Rev. Harriet Walden and more.

MISSION & OBJECTIVE
The Social Justice Film Festival highlights film and video work being done to encourage change around the world. As a movement, social justice promotes a global culture of equality. This includes issues pertaining to incarceration, the environment and sustainability, oppression, race and racism, gender equality, the arts and rights of expression and speech, animal rights, alternative lifestyles and economies, disenfranchisement, water and food insecurity, economic disparity, homelessness, exploitation, corruption, and more. The festival will showcase works that challenge society structures all over the globe on a macro and micro level.

***COVID 19 announcement added July 18th***

Here at the Social Justice Film festival we have been closely following developments during the pandemic, watching as organizers of events large and small have responded to Coronavirus.

https://www.vulture.com/2020/06/events-cancelled-coronavirus.html

Recent developments across the United States show rising case numbers. Johns Hopkins University data show Covid-19 cases are growing in the majority of US states, while daily new cases in Washington State have tripled since a local low in mid-May. Given these trends, we had to make a decision to plan for the future.

The Social Justice FIlm Festival will go on, but for 2020 it will move online.

We will continue to present films and talks virtually, during our October 1-11th event.

This announcement of our move online, though disappointing, probably doesn’t come as a surprise to you. We will move forward based on an ‘Opt Out’ system. So if our plan for an online festival isn’t going to work with your film, please do write back to let us know.

We are currently working to complete the judging and curation process so that all submitting filmmakers can be notified as of September 1st at the latest.

If selected, here is how things will work.

Many filmmakers at online festivals have concerns about how an online screening may affect future distribution prospects, future festival eligibility, and future awards eligibility:

If a film shows online, you might worry that it could be disqualified from admission into later festivals. Will it be attractive to distributors when the festival run is over? Will it be eligible for awards from major organizations like the Academy? In an attempt to address these concerns we have incorporated as many factors as possible to replicate the real-world festival experience. In this plan, you will send film files to SJFF as usual. We will host them online, incorporating a paywall, and DRM (Digital Rights Management) protections, like disabling downloads and embedding, and a limited time-frame of availability that begins at the start of the festival and ends at the end of the festival. Ticket and pass buyers will access the viewing experience with a password. For film hosting and ticketing, we are working with a partner Seattle-based organization, our friends the Northwest Film Forum. Established in 1995, the NWFF has been a stalwart advocate for independent film and filmmakers throughout their history. We are thrilled to partner with them and borrow their expertise and best practices for the 2020 SJFF.

Taken together, these precautions should limit potential concerns, somewhat replicating the limited-time, paid-ticketing exclusivities of a physical event, and preserving films as much as possible, for consideration by any later festivals, distributors, and awards organizations you may approach.

We are committed to the safety of our audience and community, and we believe that an online event is the best way to maintain that safety in this time, while staying true to the mission of connecting great Social Justice films, audiences, and film makers.

It is a lot to consider, so take your time, but please do let us know if you are opting out by next Friday, July 24th.

Thank you for all you do, and stay safe.

Yours, sincerely,
-Jody Cole
Curator,
Social Justice Film Festival

The “Cliff’s Notes” version, TL:DR
>SJFF is moving online for 2020 because of ongoing Covid 19 pandemic concerns.
>We are working to complete the film selection process by September 1st.
>If an online festival is something you have no interest in, let us know that you are opting out, please by next Friday, July 24th.

>If your film is selected, we’ll be doing everything we can to keep them eligible for later events, festivals, distributors, and awards organizations by keeping things limited in time (Oct 1-11), limited in access (behind a pay wall and accessed by a password), and limited in sharing (activating no-embed and no-download controls on the video host site).