SOCIAL IMPACT

This prestigious group of films will be in competition for our Social Impact Award. This prize will be awarded to one film across all categories that promotes social change and awareness. 
 
The films in competition for The Social Impact Award will be determined by the GIFF team, awarded by the GIFF Social Impact jury and will have a cash value of $10,000. A very special thank you to Ann Bresnan and the Bill & Ann Bresnan Foundation for their continuous, generous support in underwriting this prize. 

BEACH RATS

Directed By:  Eliza Hittman
Run Time:  95 mins
Country:  USA
Category: Narrative Feature

An aimless teenager on the outer edges of Brooklyn struggles to escape his bleak home life and navigate questions of self-identity, as he balances his time between his delinquent friends, a potential new girlfriend, and older men he meets online.

Date: 6/3 | Location: Bow Tie – Theater 2 | Time: 8:45PM | BUY NOW 

BIG SONIA

Directed By: Leah Warshawski & Todd Soliday
Run Time: 93 mins
Country: USA
Category: Documentary Feature

For years, Sonia Warshawski (90) has been an inspirational public speaker at schools and prisons, where her stories of surviving the Holocaust as a teenager have inspired countless people who once felt their own traumas would leave them broken forever. But when Sonia is served an eviction notice for her iconic tailor shop (in a dead mall), she’s confronted with an agonizing decision: either open up a new shop, or retire. For a woman who admits she stays busy “to keep the dark parts away”, facing retirement dredges up fears she’d long forgot she had, and her horrific past resurfaces. BIG SONIA explores what it means to be a survivor and how this affects families and generations. Will you let your trauma define you? Or will your past make you stronger?

Date: 6/1 | Location: Bow Tie – Theater 3 | Time: 3:00PM | BUY NOW * 
Date: 6/4 | Location: Bow Tie – Theater 2 | Time: 11:00AM | BUY NOW ** 

CHARGED: THE EDUARDO GARCIA STORY

Directed By: Phillip Baribeau
Run Time: 86 mins
Country: USA
Category: Documentary Feature

CHARGED: THE EDUARDO GARCIA STORY follows the life of celebrity chef, Eduardo Garcia whose body was jolted with 2400 volts of electricity in a bizarre backcountry accident in Montana. When his career as a highly respected chef and outdoorsman comes to a sudden halt as he fights for his life, he has to undergo 21 surgeries to get back on his feet. Halfway through his recovery, the doctors inform him that he is also suffering from testicular cancer and will have to undergo intensive chemotherapy. Physical survival is followed by emotional upheaval as he is forced to deal with his now changed relationships with his family and everyone else close to him. Most challenging is his relationship with his former girlfriend, whom he betrayed and whom, for reasons she does not even understand, becomes his primary caregiver. CHARGED is a survivor story about the resilience of a man, his family, and his closest, most complex friendships. Above all, it is a story about finding one’s best self in order to live a full life- one that is truly- CHARGED

Date: 6/3 | Location: Bow Tie – Theater 1 | Time: 6:30PM | BUY NOW 
Date: 6/4 | Location: Bow Tie – Theater 3 | Time: 12:00PM | BUY NOW 

*Q&A with Eduardo Garcia, Jennifer Jane, Philip Baribeau (Director), Dennis Aig (Producer), Teri Weinberg (Executive Producer), and Doug Ellin (Executive Producer) following the screening. Moderated by Mark Lindsay
**Q&A with Jennifer Jane, Philip Baribeau (Director), Dennis Aig (Producer), and Teri Weinberg (Executive Producer) following the screening.

CITY OF GHOSTS

Directed By: Matthew Heineman
Run Time: 90 mins
Country: USA
Category: Documentary Feature

Directed, produced, and filmed by Academy Award–nominated, Emmy-winning filmmaker, and Connecticut native Matthew Heineman (Cartel Land, 2015 Sundance Film Festival Directing Award), CITY OF GHOSTS is a singularly powerful cinematic experience that is sure to shake audiences to their core as it elevates the canon of one of the most talented documentary filmmakers working today. Captivating in its immediacy, CITY OF GHOSTS follows the journey of “Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently”— a handful of anonymous activists who banded together after their homeland was taken over by ISIS in 2014. With astonishing, deeply personal access, this is the story of a brave group of citizen journalists as they face the realities of life undercover, on the run, and in exile, risking their lives to stand up against one of the greatest evils in the world today.

Date: 6/4 | Location: Bow Tie – Theater 2 | Time: 6:00PM | BUY NOW 

DAYVEON

Directed By: Amman Abbasi
Run Time: 75 mins
Country: USA
Category: Narrative Feature

In the wake of his older brother’s death, 13-year-old Dayveon spends the sweltering summer days roaming his rural Arkansas town. When he falls in with a local gang, he becomes drawn to the camaraderie and violence of their world.

Date: 6/1 | Location: Bow Tie – Theater 2 | Time: 4:00PM* | RESERVE TICKETS 
Date: 6/2 | Location: Bow Tie – Theater 3 | Time: 1:30PM | BUY NOW 

* Complimentary Screening

DINA

Directed By: Antonio Santini & Dan Sickles
Run Time: 101 mins
Country: USA
Category: Documentary Feature

Dina is getting married in a few weeks and there is still so much to do. She has to move her boyfriend, Scott, from his parents’ house to her apartment and settle him into the second home he’s ever lived in, all while juggling his schedule as an early morning Walmart door greeter. She has to get her dress, confirm arrangements with the venue, and make peace with her family, who are remain nervous for Dina after the death of her first husband and the string of troubled relationships that followed. Throughout it all, in the face of obstacles large and small, Dina remains indomitable. She has overcome tragedy and found the man she wants and, at age 48, is bent on building the life for herself that she believes she deserves. Dina is unstoppable— a force of nature, and as the star of her own life story, she’s an unconventional movie protagonist the likes of which hasn’t been seen before in film.

Date: 6/3 | Location: Bow Tie – Theater 2 | Time: 6:15PM | BUY NOW 

THE LIGHT OF THE MOON

Sponsored by Greenwich Sentinel
In Partnership with YWCA Greenwich
Directed By: Jessica M. Thompson
Run Time: 90 mins
Country: USA
Category: Narrative Feature

 

Stephanie Beatriz (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Short Term 12) gives a powerful and moving performance as Bonnie, a woman who maintains her dignity and sense of humor as she deals with the aftermath of a sexual assault. Written and directed by Emmy-nominated Australian filmmaker Jessica M. Thompson in her feature film debut, THE LIGHT OF THE MOON is a powerful reminder of the resilience of the human spirit and the importance of relationships in the face of a tragedy.

Date: 6/3 | Location: Bow Tie – Theater 1 | Time: 1:00PM* | BUY NOW 
Date: 6/4 | Location: Bow Tie – Theater 1 | Time: 1:30PM | BUY NOW 

* Following this screening will be a Town Hall with principal cast, the director, producers, Liz Eddy (CrisisTextLine), Alyssa Ruderman (DoSomething.org & Upworthy) and Peg Cafferty (Producer of India’s Daughter) to discuss global rape culture and how we can use the film and media to help stop the objectification of women. Moderated by Leslie Coplin, LMSW, Prevention and Outreach Coordinator of Domestic Abuse Services, YWCA.

VIP PASSES

Want to attend all festival events like a VIP? Purchase a VIP Pass today to gain premiere access to the festival.

PARTIES

Enjoy star-studded parties during GIFF 2017, featuring a concert by Flo Rida, award presentations, cocktails, food and more! 

PANELS

Reserve your tickets now for a variety of educational, engaging, and insightful panels during the 2017 Festival.

Jury

Ann Bresnan – Philanthropist

Philanthropist Ann Bresnan has worked in finance, real estate, and at Christie’s auction house. She has invested in both films and art. Ann and a good friend produced Thank You Films – a series of 30-second public service announcements aired nationwide for several years on cable networks aimed at thanking individual charities for the many good works they do and drawing a wider awareness to their causes. Currently, she is the President of the Bill and Ann Bresnan Foundation and believes strongly in the positive role films can play in changing lives.

Sophia Bush – Actress, Philanthropist, & Activist

Sophia Bush is an American actress, activist, entrepreneur and global education access advocate. She currently stars as Detective Erin Lindsay on season 4 of NBC’s Chicago PD. She plays her strong, vulnerable, and complex character on five series across super producer Dick Wolf’s platform. She is currently working on a film opposite Bruce Willis.

Bush has captured film and television audiences alike with the diverse characters she portrays. Over the course of nine seasons, she portrayed Brooke Davis on The CW’s hit drama “One Tree Hill,” evolving from a troublemaking vixen to a fiercely loyal friend and a huge fan favorite. Bush appeared opposite David Krumholtz, Michael Urie and Brandon Routh in the CBS comedy, “Partners.”

Bush starred opposite Sean Bean in the remake of the classic horror film “The Hitcher” produced by Michael Bay for Focus Features. She starred in Serenade Films’ “The Narrows,” the independent comedy “Table for Three,” and the feature film “Chalet Girl” opposite Bill Nighy and Brooke Shields. Previously, Bush starred in 20th Century Fox’s hit comedy “John Tucker Must Die” along with Jesse Metcalfe and Brittany Snow. She also starred in the Buena Vista Pictures thriller, “Stay Alive,” opposite Frankie Muniz and Adam Goldberg.

Bush has earned multiple Teen Choice Awards in the categories of “Choice Movie Actress: Comedy,” “Choice Movie Actress: Horror/Thriller” and “Choice Movie: Breakout Female.” In addition, she received the Rising Star Award at the Vail Film Festival, the New Hollywood Style Icon Award at the Hollywood Style Awards and the Bing Philanthropy Award at the Young Hollywood Awards.

Off screen, Bush is also an early stage tech investor, who looks to bolster companies that create innovation and efficiency in people’s lives. She counts Uber, StyleSeat, Meerkat, Mark 43, and THINX among investments she calls “lifehacks.”

Named one of the most charitable celebrities by CNN, Sophia devotes her free time to bettering girl’s education and the environment. She inspires millions as she uses her personal platform and social media influence to raise awareness and funds for great causes. Since taking to social media to share her passion for change, Bush has inspired young people to join her in raising nearly half a million dollars for charity, built three primary schools in Guatemala and Laos, and now serves as a global ambassador for Glamour’s The Girl Project. Her focus, with The Girl Project, is to break down the barriers the girls face to secondary school education. They are currently working in 96 countries around the world.

Breven Warren – Producer

Breven founded and directs Angaelica, an arts and ecology non-profit, hosting an International Film Festival, currently in it’s 10th year and a Pop-up Gallery during Art Basel Miami Beach. She is a PGA member, who has been involved in production grants, sat on advisory boards, deliberated with programming teams and chosen prize winners on various juries. Breven’s festival resume includes, Sundance, Slamdance, Outfest, LA Film Festival, Outfest, AFI Film Festival, San Francisco International Film Festival and Miami International Film Festival.

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