MONTEREY, Calif. -- The 14th Annual International Film Festival, presented by the Monterey Bay Chapter of the United Nations Association (UNA) of the U.S.A., will be held on Friday and Saturday evenings, November 1 and 2, 2013, at 7 p.m. each night, plus Sunday afternoon, November 3, at 1:30 p.m. All sessions will again take place in the historic Golden State Theatre at 417 Alvarado in downtown Monterey. Doors open one hour before each session. Thanks to continued generous community support, admission to this film festival is held remarkably low at just $5.00 per session of three films, with free admission for all full-time students with a student ID. There are no reservations or advance ticket sales, and there is open seating at the event. For more information about UNA, visit our Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/unamontereybay.
As in past years, this important film festival screens diverse international documentary films, all designed to wake up, educate and sometimes mobilize viewers around critical global issues. A committee of volunteers has spent over six months first searching several key documentary film sites for recent excellent issue-oriented documentary films, then previewing a shorter list of the best of those films in order to select the nine films which will be screened in this year's festival.
Among the five feature films to be presented this year are the following: Green Gold, in which filmmaker, John Liu takes on a tour of large scale ecosystem restoration projects around the world; Academy Award Nominee, 5 Broken Cameras, a first-hand account of life and non-violent resistance following a West Bank family’s evolution over five years of upheaval; Genetic Roulette – The Gamble of Our Lives, a film that may change your diet, help you protect your family, and accelerate the tipping point against genetically modified organisms (GMO’s); Chasing Ice, one of the most important environmental documentaries you will ever see depicting the melting or our Earth due to climate change; and The Fourth World, a journey to Guatemala, Kenya, and the Philippines to meet people caught up in the largest migration in the history of the world.
This year’s festival in Monterey is made possible through the generous support from the following sponsors: The Arts Council for Monterey County, with a grant from the Monterey County Board of Supervisors; City of Monterey; Old Monterey Business Association; KAZU 90.3 FM Radio; KRXA 540 AM Radio; KSBW-TV; Monterey County Weekly; Jack in the box; Kerry Lee Remarkable Jewelry (of Carmel); Sotheby’s International Realty; the Wild Plum Cafe, Bistro, & Bakery (of Monterey); California State University Monterey Bay; the Monterey Institute of International Studies; and Santa Catalina School.
According to Sherri Yahyavi, Committee Chair of the Monterey Bay Chapter of the UNA-USA 2013 International Documentary Film Festival, "We are looking forward to presenting the 14th annual film festival of international documentaries! Our Committee has selected a diverse group of films that will awaken and inspire those who attend."
The Monterey Bay Chapter of the UNA-USA is an all-volunteer organization of more than 600 members in Monterey County, and one of the largest and most active UNA chapters in the country. In addition to the International Film Festival and other community events, they have held two successful Adopt-a-Minefield Campaigns for Bosnia and Afghanistan, and work with student groups at various local high schools, colleges and graduate schools. UNA-USA (national organization) is one of the country's largest grassroots foreign policy organizations, and a leading center of policy research on the United Nations (UN). It is a nonprofit, nonpartisan group designed to educate Americans of every age about critical issues tackled by the UN. With a national membership of thousands and more than 100 affiliated organizations, UNA-USA sponsors programs and events designed to encourage participation in global issues.
More information about the local 14th Annual International Film Festival is available on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/unamontereybay. Journalists may call Sherri Yahyavi at (831) 521-9118.
