The UnLonely Film Festival is one of the nation’s largest campaigns to raise awareness about loneliness. By celebrating the power of storytelling in film, this festival and its films create a voice for the loneliness epidemic and help people better connect with short films, each other, and themselves.
The UnLonely Film Festival will launch in June 2023 and will be celebrating its 7th anniversary. Over the years, as the only festival dedicated to illuminating isolation and destigmatizing loneliness, this film series has made tremendous impact for people struggling with loneliness and has been used as part of national and local program efforts. Past submissions have included films that premiered at Sundance, Tribeca, Palm Spring, and DOC NYC film festivals and have even been nominated for an Academy Award.
The Festival will select around 35 short films to represent diverse settings, identities, and experiences to shape the story of the loneliness epidemic. All communities face loneliness, and as such, we encourage filmmakers to share short works that help to explore loneliness and mental health with the below perspectives:
- Those experiencing “everyday loneliness” at work, at school and at home
- How individuals have struggled, overcome, or solved loneliness
- Those looking for social connection or community belonging
- Those exploring creative expression
- Older adults
- Adolescents, young adults, or students exploring identity Race and Sexual Orientation
- Minorities working to establish and legitimize their identity
- Black Americans’ struggling with tragedies caused by systemic racism and its effect on their physical and mental health
- Veterans, active duty military and their loved ones Individuals with major illnesses, as well as their caregivers
- Individuals and families struggling with addiction
- Immigrants and refugees finding their way in a new place
Since March 2020, the pandemic has caused extraordinary harm to our mental health. In addition to the grief caused by the loss of over half a million people to COVID-19, our nation has faced overwhelming loss and unrest due to systemic racism as well as unprecedented political and social divisions. Health disparities continue to widen and the pandemic fuels the loneliness epidemic with no end in sight. By showcasing your powerful films, we hope to create a series of stories that transcend divisions and help us come together and unite.
The UnLonely Film Festival is created by The Foundation for Art & Healing. In years past, this festival has been presented by Cigna, the AARP Foundation, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Amerians for the Arts, and more. Now, more than ever, it’s imperative that we all use the arts as a way to improve health and wellness, advocate for vulnerable populations, and address public health issues.
All selected videos will be made available for free public viewing on our website for at least one year. These films are housed as a way for the public to form community and access content that helps to connect people.
3 winners and 5 honorable mentions receive a modest cash prize given at our launch event in the summer of 2023 in New York City. We are hoping to do an in person launch event. Prizes are given out by Mike Paseornek & industry guests.
