FIFDH IMPACT DAYS 2022: wrap-up and awards

As FIFDH's Impact Days drew to a close last night in Geneva, the 2022 FIFDH Impact Days Award was presented to the Ukrainian film project Peace For Nina, directed by Zhanna Maksymenko-Dovhych and produced by Zhanna Maksymenko-Dovhych, Lyuba Knorozok and Dea Gjinovci.

UKRAINIAN FILM PROJECT PEACE FOR NINA WINS THE 2022 FIFDH IMPACT DAYS AWARD

The film tells the story of a Ukrainian woman tirelessly campaigning on behalf of her dead son and the countless other victims of the undeclared war that Russia waged on Ukraine for the past seven years. As Nina begins to corne to terms with the loss of her son, she resolves to collect evidence of his murder and pursue her lone crusade to bring this war crime to the attention of Ukrainian and international courts.

Director Zhanna Maksymenko-Dovhych and producer Lyuba Knorozok could not attend in person due to the ongoing war in Ukraine but were online. They are working on the final edit and post-production at the moment, given the current situation and hope to release the film this year.

The prize consists of a € 15,000 impact strategy package provided by Think­ Film Impact Production, a market-leading creative impact consultancy that explores innovative ways to merge the worlds of film and policy.

Think-Film Founder and Executive Director Danielle Turkov said: "With the active invasion of Ukraine, the topic of war crimes is more timely than ever. We're honoured to help elevate this important film and together start bringing justice to the people of Ukraine."

As the lndustry programme of the Geneva International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights  (FIFDH), the lmpact Days bring together filmmakers, impact producers, NGOs and funders to build collaborations and common strategies to strengthen human rights movements through cinematic storytelling.

Thanks to our curated networking and matchmaking activities, our 2021 selected film projects have raised €200,000 of direct funding to implement their impact campaigns. Today we're proud to announce that less than 24 hours after the closing of this year's edition, thanks to the support of IMS International Media Support, we have already generated €10,000 each for our projects Baghdad on Fire and Peace For Nina (also the winner of the Impact Prize). These projects will also receive a further €10,000 each in matching funds thanks to our partnership with The Storyboard Collective.

Baghdad On Fire, directed by Karrar AI-Azzawi and produced by Jorgen Lorentzen, follows a young woman taking part in the democracy movement in Iraq.

The fourth edition of the Impact Days has now closed after several weeks of online and in-person activities addressed to filmmakers, NGOs, international organisations and funders from around the globe.

These last two years of having to adapt to a pandemic world and keep up with our mission to support impact storytellers from around the world have taught us how to exploit the potential of both virtual and physical events. ln its hybrid version, the 2022 Impact Days have directly reached over 900 people tuning in from 70 countries.

Since its first edition in 2019, Impact Days has doubled the scope and duration of the programme to address the needs of a global and growing dedicated impact film community. With the aim of maximising outreach and inclusion and reducing travelling and C02 emissions, we have shaped each activity to its optimised format over a seven-week programme.

This has included:

• one public webinar, a three-part online Impact Lab for 16 selected documentary projects,
• one NGO-targeted workshop in central Geneva with over 40 participating organisations,
• one hundred scheduled one­ to-one meetings,
• and two days of public physical programme in Geneva featuring keynotes, case studies, curated matchmaking, masterclasses and screenings with key impact players.

"lt's been amazing to see so many filmmakers from around the world, here in Geneva, determined to use their films as tools for concrete change. NGO engagement with the impact ecosystem has also been huge this year. We've really been able to broaden and deepen this space of exchange, learning and meaningful collaboration, so needed in these difficult times!" said Laura Longobardi, Head of Impact and lndustry at the FIFDH.

Sixteen international documentary projects addressing some of the most pressing issues of our time were selected this year (amongst these, two have won awards at Sundance, one has had its world première at the Berlinale, and one is nominated to the Oscars!).

With the help of five experienced tutors, the project teams were guided through the Impact Lab - a series of training modules enabling the filmmakers to refine their project goals and identify the organisations they could partner with. After this the project teams met with changemakers and funders in strategically curated one-to-one meetings. Over 100 of these meetings took place, with 60 representatives from 37 organisations, including Amnesty International, Oak Foundation, IRIS, lnMaat Foundation, IMS, Oxfam and Doctors without Borders, amongst many others. Twenty-five of these meetings took place online to achieve the best possible matching potential.

The potential to raise further impact campaign funds through these meetings has been amplified, thanks to the renewed partnership with The StoryBoard Collective. The Geneva-based philanthropic organisation offers matching grants for funding raised through collaborations initiated at the Impact Days.

Following each one-to-one meeting, the changemakers voted on the potential of each project to produce a positive impact. Each year these votes determine the winner of the Impact Award.

A newly established partnership with the subtitling company Sublimages will allow one of our selected projects to reach strategic audiences in specific territories thanks to the provision of free translation and subtitling of their film. This year's winning project is: From Cold War to Green War,  directed by Anna Recalde Miranda and produced by Hernan Mazzeo, llaria Malagutti and Sergio Ayala. The film aims to demonstrate how the legacy of dictatorships in Latin America continues to have a devastating effect today.

A wide range of other new strategic partnerships has enabled us to strengthen the outreach and content of this year's programme. Through our international industry and media partners, we were able to review projects and reach filmmakers from the five continents.

Cara Mertes, Founding Director, International Resource for Impact and Storytelling, said: "lt is so impressive to see the striking advances FIFDH has made in the film impact arena, energising new resources, supporting a whole new cohort of films, and drawing new partners to the work. With Impact Days, FIFDH is carving a unique and necessary niche for itself in the international film festival landscape."

The Impact Days team extends its immense gratitude to all partners and collaborators, speakers and panellists, and dedicated team of tutors and experts.

See you in 2023!