GIFF is proud to support filmmakers with a variety of film awards and cash prizes. Check out our award-winning films!
BEST SOCIAL IMPACT FILM AWARD
Presented by Ann & Nick Young
Documentary / 85 min / USA
Best-selling author and historian Heather Dune Macadam has adapted her acclaimed book 999 into a powerful documentary that sheds light on a wrenching true story. In March 1942, nearly 1,000 young Slovak Jewish women, mostly teenagers, told by their government that they were embarking on a volunteer work assignment, were instead illegally deported to Auschwitz on what was the first Jewish transport to the Nazi death camp. Rather than strictly focus on the suffering and death experienced by most of the girls, Macadam tells stories of a small group who survived against all odds, even under unimaginable conditions that lasted more than three grueling years. A film of deep research and vivid detail, 999 THE FORGOTTEN GIRLS ensures that these women will no longer be a historical footnote.
Director: Heather Dune Macadam
Producers: Heather Dune Macadam, Jane Schonberger, Jay Heit, Beatriz M. Calleja
Executive Producers: Susan Lacy, Diane Nabatoff
Editor: Beatriz M. Calleja
Documentary / 1hr 38mins / USA
LITTLE RICHARD: I AM EVERYTHING tells the story of the Black queer origins of rock n’ roll,exploding the whitewashed canon of American pop music to reveal the innovator – the originator– Richard Penniman. Through a wealth of archive and performance that brings us into Richard’s complicated inner world, the film unspools the icon’s life story with all its switchbacks and contradictions. In interviews with family, musicians, and cutting-edge Black and queer scholars, the film reveals how Richard created an art form for ultimate self-expression, yet what he gave to the world he was never able to give to himself. Throughout his life, Richard careened like a shiny cracked pinball between God, sex and rock n’ roll. The world tried to put him in a box, but Richard was an omni being who contained multitudes – he was unabashedly everything.
Director: Lisa Cortes
Producers: Robert Friedman, Lisa Cortés, Liz Yale Marsh and Caryn Capotosto Executive Producers: Dee Rees, Mike Powers, Anita May Rosentstein, Gus Wenner, Jason Fine, Amy Entelis, Courtney Sexton
Editors: Jake Hostetter, Lead Editor: Nyneve Laura Minnear
HONORABLE MENTION
Documentary / 1 hr 36 min / USA
A fresh spin on the story of high school sports as the path to transformation and redemption, LUCHA: A WRESTLING TALE takes us inside the Taft High School women’s wrestling team on their journey to a championship. Personal challenges abound, from unsupportive families to homelessness, but these four young women from the Bronx—Shirley, Nyasia, Mariam, and Alba—find solace and hope in each other and on the mat. Their empowering story is a testament to the human spirit and true grit.
Director: Marco Ricci
Producer: Marco Ricci
Executive Producers: Justin Biskin, Sammy Brennan, Ibtihaj Muhammad,
Peter Skrumbis, Robert Carrillo, Josh Lee
Editor: Leah Goudsmit
Narrative / 1 hr 23 min / France
Six-year-old Cléo loves her nanny, Gloria, more than anything. When Gloria must return to Cape Verde to care for her own children, the two must make the most of their last summer together.
Director: Marie Amachoukeli-Barsacq
Producer: Bénédicte Couvreur
Editor: Suzana Pedro
Documentary / 82 mins / USA
Called “the most important business story of the past 100 years,” the film chronicles the story of the past leader Ray Anderson and his company, Interface. After a life-changing epiphany, Ray led his team on a high-stakes journey.
Directors: Nathan Havey
Producers: Jim Havey, Executive Producer: Diana Propper De Callejon, Co – Executive Producers:Bill Hayward, Bob Fish, Michael McFall, Ben Lumpkin
Editor: Nathan Church
