28 Aug 2024 Free Speech Award Official Selections

CLICK HERE TO WATCH OFFICIAL SELECTION TRAILERS

American INSIGHT is honored to announce the five films that have earned Official Selection status in our global, all-virtual 2024 Free Speech Film Festival.

Official Selection films are: The Future is Ours directed by Ed Madison from the United States, Offenders directed by Sunil Kalia from Canada, From the Cradle to the Grave directed by Davoud Abdolmaleki from Iran, The Borders Never Die directed by Hamidreza Arjomandi from Iran, and Sermersuaq – the great ice directed by Patrizia Bruno from Italy.

The Free Speech Award celebrates the passionate innovations of independent filmmakers and champions the ideas, perspectives, and voices that prove vital to the future of Free Speech, Human Rights, and the Rule of Law. As part of our mission to empower independent filmmakers to discuss how these values are expressed in societies around the world, we encourage them to exercise the power of their films to address issues that are important to them and to their societies.

This year, these dedicated filmmakers have answered the call in a big way. We received films from or about 29 countries, including 38 films from the Middle East, 31 from North America and 28 from Europe. These films touch on a variety of topics that are having a massive impact on societies around the world.

The Future is Ours features Gen Z journalists from across the United States in a challenging conversation about some of the issues they will soon inherit as many of them become eligible to vote for the first time this year, including climate change, school shootings, racial tensions and devastating wars.

Fearlessly challenging constraints on free expression in India, Offenders calls for the defense of free speech amidst censorship and violence. Against the backdrop of Hindu hegemony, it serves as a tribute to the transformative power of safeguarding fundamental rights.

From the Cradle to the Grave follows the lives of students from a girls’ high school in Iran as they live out the answer to two profound questions: “Are we responsible for our destiny?” and “Do we have the ability to change the circumstances of our lives?”.

The Borders Never Die follows the journey of a couple, who are Kurds from Iraqi Kurdistan, as they cross the border because of war in their land. They face difficult and impassable roads ahead of them on the way that are compounded by the fact that the woman is pregnant.

Sermersuaq – the great ice is a powerful documentary that offers an intimate perspective on climate change in the Arctic. It follows the stories of Michael, a hunter from Qaanaaq, the northernmost town of Greenland, and Marc, a scientist on a quest for truth. Although these two men have different origins, they have the same common purpose: preserving Sermersuaq, Greenland’s great ice sheet.

Each Official Selection film is showcased for a month in our newsletters, Free Speech Spotlight Blog posts, and social media channels, plus a personalized SPEAK EZ recorded interview that will be seen and studied by students for years to come.

Submit films for the global 2025 Free Speech Award from February 1 – April 30^th .

For more information, visit https://americaninsight.org/festival/.