Films screening at the 2021 Big Syn International Film Festival remind us yet again that achieving a safe, secure and sustainable world is a shared task for us all.
Category: Press release | Date: October 24, 2021 | By: Big Syn Institute, London. UK.
The 2021 Big Syn International Film Festival, the 3rd edition of the world’s biggest film festival of its kind, will be hosted online 24 – 31 Oct 2021 and screen a selection of extraordinary feature films, shorts, animations and documentaries from across the world.
These films aim to educate viewers about the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, their significance for our present and future, and also inspire millions to act on the Sustainable Development Goals in our daily lives.
The Grand Jury of the festival comprises of BAFTA winners, OSCAR nominees and leaders from film & media, policy and sustainability. Registration for the festival is free; via Eventbrite.
Yet again the festival brings to perspective the shared nature of the global problems and underscores the importance of collaborative actions that are needed to overcome these urgent challenges such as climate change, pollution, gender inequality, poverty or poor health and sanitation, to name a few.
Underscoring the importance of the film festival, patron and festival advisor, Debashish Das, who is a senior business professional and philanthropist, indicated, “to protect our beautiful planet and our future generations, we need to live the UN SDGs in our daily lives.” He added, “Big Syn International Film Festival is a unique platform to bring awareness of the UN SDGs to the masses – Time is precious, and I believe, investing a bit of your precious time to view, learn and be inspired by these films will bring a valuable positive change in your life and energise you to act for a better world.”
Dr Sourav Roy, a member of the 2021 Grand Jury and CEO of Centre for Big Synergy, London, highlighted the urgency for everyone to act on the UN SDGs, and hence the importance of inspirational events as this film festival. He mentioned, “to reach anywhere close to targets set by the 2030 UN Agenda, we want all hands on deck! For that, we want every person on the planet to be made aware of the UN SDGs and the interconnected nature of the modern world – our choices and actions impact lives of complete strangers and the other way round! For these messages to be passed to millions, nothing can be more impactful than relatable stories told through entertaining and meaningful cinema- this unique festival is quietly serving that purpose, and inspiring millions to act on the UN SDGs!”
The festival will screen a diverse array of about 50 films, animations and documentaries chosen from close to 400 entries, from over 60 countries. Alongside regular category awards, this year, the festival is also awarding best actors, animators, directors, producers, editors, screenplay writers and cinematographers. The winners will be declared during the festival 24 – 31 October 2021.
The organiser of the festival, Big Syn Institute, is a part of the Centre for Big Synergy (CBS), a CSO of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. CBS is a not-for-profit, global consortium of change makers committed to create a more responsible future for all.
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