The Causes Film Festival, a new vehicle at SUNY Fredonia to tackle injustice and have an impact on society, is accepting entries for its April 29 premiere. Entries should be submitted in .mov format on a data CD or DVD to Causes Film Fest, SUNY Fredonia, 324 McEwen Hall, Fredonia, NY 14063, by noon on Wednesday, April 20.
Organizers say a cause can be tangible or an idea that stirs the emotions and inspires a commitment to action that could either modestly change the way a person approaches each day or be significant in scope and usher fundamental change in society.
“Everyone has a cause that is near and dear to them and as Margaret Meade once said, ‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has,’” said Visual Arts & New Media professor Peter Tucker. By joining the festival, filmmakers can share and communicate their own causes to an audience.
Social-media networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter can be useful as forums for ideas, Tucker noted, but the impact of people gathering together in one place has never been surpassed. The Causes festival serves as a means to unite the virtual community and physical community.
Entries to the festival are to be 90-second mini-documentary videos or films that highlight a cause, such as environmentalism, social injustice, gender equality or women’s issues, that are relevant to the Western New York region. Broader topics of homelessness, education and racism can also be explored, as well as causes yet to be discovered by a wider audience.
“We envision our film festival as an annual forum for students and the community to not only artistically address injustice and impact the society in which they live, but to grow in size and scope to the point where it may eventually spread beyond Fredonia to the rest of the SUNY family, creating an even larger movement for positive change,” Tucker explained. The festival will supplement the existing SUNYWide Film Festival, also held at SUNY Fredonia.
