UNAFF

UNAFF UNAFF (United Nations Association Film Festival) celebrates the power of documentary films.

The 29th UNAFF (United Nations Association Film Festival) runs Oct 15-25, 2026 in Palo Alto, East Palo Alto, San Francisco and Stanford University. The 2026 theme, PASSION FOR CHANGE continues our devotion to human rights with an emphasis on the energy, foresight and courage required to respond wisely to the increasing pace and challenges of our times. UNAFF was founded in 1998 by Stanford educato

r and film critic Jasmina Bojic in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. PROGRAMS:
UNAFF
UNAFF TFF (Traveling Film Festival)
UNAFF & Kids
UNAFF in Schools
UNAFF for Seniors
UNAFF Café
UNAFF in Libraries
UNAFF With Veterans
UNAFF Women’s Salon
UNAFF Panels
UNAFF Archive

AWARDS given out annually:
UNAFF Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary
UNAFF Grand Jury Award for Best Short Documentary
UNAFF Award for Best Cinematography
UNAFF Award for Best Editing
UNAFF Youth Vision Award
UNAFF Visionary Award

Over the past 28 years, UNAFF juries have selected:

39 documentaries which received Oscar nominations:
Regret to Inform, Genghis Blues, Long Night's Journey Into Day, LaLee's Kin: The Legacy of Cotton, Promises, Daughter from Danang, When Abortion Was Illegal, Twist of Faith, God Sleeps in Rwanda, War/Dance, Salim Baba, Trouble the Water, The Garden, Burma VJ, China's Unnatural Disaster - The Tears of Sichuan Province, The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, Rabbit a la Berlin, Which Way Home, Gasland, Killing In the Name, Waste Land, The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of The Civil Rights Movement, Karama Has No Walls, Facing Fear, King’s Point, Prison Terminal: The Last Days Of Private Jack Hall, White Earth, Dirty Wars, The Poster Girl, Last Day of Freedom, Hunger Ward, Tell the Truth and Run: George Seldes and the American Press, Attica, Writing With Fire, When We Were Bullies, To Kill A Tiger, Death by Numbers, Sugarcane and Porcelain War.

8 documentaries which won Academy Awards:
The Panama Deception, Thoth, The Blood of Yingzhou District, Freeheld, Taxi to the Dark Side, Saving Face, Inocente and Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl)

What an amazing energy in the full house at the 19th UNAFF Traveling Film Festival Paris where we presented last year's ...
05/26/2026

What an amazing energy in the full house at the 19th UNAFF Traveling Film Festival Paris where we presented last year's UNAFF Opening Night film FOLLOWING HARRY on May 19th. We are thankful to all the members of the audience for such inspiring questions and conversation and to our wonderful host - the Arts Arena Columbia University Global Centers and its devoted team led by incredible Founder and Artistic Director, Margery Arent Safir.

We are already looking forward to our 20th UNAFF Traveling Film Festival Paris Anniversary in 2027!

CALL FOR ENTRIES REGULAR DEADLINE: May 16, 2026SUBMIT YOUR FILM to the 29th UNAFF (United Nations Association Film Festi...
05/11/2026

CALL FOR ENTRIES REGULAR DEADLINE: May 16, 2026

SUBMIT YOUR FILM to the 29th UNAFF (United Nations Association Film Festival) which runs from October 15-25, 2026 in Palo Alto, East Palo Alto, San Francisco and Stanford University. UNAFF celebrates the power of international documentary films dealing with
human rights, the environment, refugees, famine, homelessness, racism, disease control, women’s issues, children, universal education, war and peace. This year’s theme, PASSION FOR CHANGE, continues our devotion to human rights with an emphasis on the energy, foresight and courage required to respond wisely to the increasing pace and challenges of our times.

Find more info at the link below:
https://www.unaff.org/2026/submission.html

From our partners:UNAFF is happy to co-present three documentaries dealing with social justice at the 25th San Francisco...
05/10/2026

From our partners:

UNAFF is happy to co-present three documentaries dealing with social justice at the 25th San Francisco Doc Fest May 28-June 7, 2026:
The Surrender of Waymond Hall
After a decade on the run for armed robbery and assault, Waymond Hall weighs the prospects of life in prison against a chance to prove himself a devoted father and principled man.
https://sfdocfest2026.eventive.org/films/69b44794c153a503bd9f1c80

The End of Isolation
This documentary follows a busload of anti-prison theater activists 8,000 miles across America performing The BOX, an emotionally searing play on solitary confinement. Guided by formerly incarcerated voices, the journey exposes prison cruelty, uplifts bold visions of justice, and shows how art and collective resistance can challenge authoritarianism and ignite hope for change.
https://sfdocfest2026.eventive.org/films/69baa6a028a630abc26c03fd

Saving Etting Street
Saving Etting Street follows carpenter Shelley Halstead as she trains a group of three young, Black women in construction skills by rehabbing vacant and abandoned houses in West Baltimore, challenging generations of racism and sexism in housing.
https://sfdocfest2026.eventive.org/films/69e11177bb8676f08801f90a

UNAFF is deeply saddened that our long time Honorary Committee member Ted Turner has passed away. We will remember him a...
05/08/2026

UNAFF is deeply saddened that our long time Honorary Committee member Ted Turner has passed away. We will remember him as a staunch supporter of the UN and the UNA-USA and a benevolent and supportive presence since our early years of UNAFF.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAhStTQ_ebc

‼️ EARLY DEADLINE: May 06, 2026SUBMIT YOUR FILM to the 29th UNAFF (United Nations Association Film Festival) which runs ...
05/04/2026

‼️ EARLY DEADLINE: May 06, 2026

SUBMIT YOUR FILM to the 29th UNAFF (United Nations Association Film Festival) which runs from October 15-25, 2026 in Palo Alto, East Palo Alto, San Francisco and Stanford University. UNAFF celebrates the power of international documentary films dealing with
human rights, the environment, refugees, famine, homelessness, racism, disease control, women's issues, children, universal education, war and peace. This year’s theme, PASSION FOR CHANGE, continues our devotion to human rights with an emphasis on the energy, foresight and courage required to respond wisely to the increasing pace and challenges of our times.

Find more info at the link below:
https://www.unaff.org/2026/submission.html

Worried about democracy? Support UNAFF!Check out the url below for more information on becoming a sponsor: https://www.u...
05/01/2026

Worried about democracy? Support UNAFF!

Check out the url below for more information on becoming a sponsor:
https://www.unaff.org/2026/sponsors.html

Please know that your sponsorship will have a major impact on outreach in the community which benefits both your organization and UNAFF. This year’s festival will enable us to continue to inform and educate thousands of viewers about local and global issues.

Thank you for supporting UNAFF! 🌎🎥

For all UNAFF members in Florida, please join Terri Bullock, the subject of the last year's UNAFF film THE POWER OF SMAL...
04/27/2026

For all UNAFF members in Florida, please join Terri Bullock, the subject of the last year's UNAFF film THE POWER OF SMALL for a very special presentation and the screening of the film at the k20 Global Summit on Kindness. The venue is the Florida Gulf Coast University, and the PBS station in Florida had an interview with the organizers of this event who talked about the film.

https://www.wgcu.org/show/gulf-coast-life/2026-03-31/fgcu-roots-of-compassion-kindness-center-hosts-first-global-kindness-summit

What a great opportunity for UNAFF Founder and Festival Director Jasmina Bojic to remind international representatives a...
04/22/2026

What a great opportunity for UNAFF Founder and Festival Director Jasmina Bojic to remind international representatives at the UN of Isaac Asimov in her speech on AI, documentary filmmaking, and human rights at the UN InfoPoverty Conference. He returns, thanks to the very AI he so cleverly imagined, to deliver a message for humanity: a way to anticipate the future of our world and, more importantly, to reinvent it. Last year, at the 28th UNAFF, we presented the first AI documentary about the scientist and writer Isaac Asimov: A Message to the Future.

Address

UNAFF P. O. Box 19369
Stanford, CA
94309

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when UNAFF posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category