Dear Friends,

Wishing you health, happiness and peace in the new year. Congratulations to all the winners of the 2020 MY HERO International Film Festival. The Virtual Awards Ceremony was attended by filmmakers, heroes, students and teachers from India, the UK, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Australia and across the United States,

For those who missed this inspiring program, you can watch the Zoom recording here. We encourage you to view all the winning films online at myhero.com/winners.

Please share our resources with teachers and families you know. These uplifting short films are sure to inspire.


Happy Holidays!

The MY HERO Team
MHIFF Virtual Awards Ceremony
Best of Fest Winner
The Best of Fest winner is A Walk Through The Land of A Thousand Hills, by Chema Domenech. In this documentary, the secrets of Nyungwe National Park in Rwanda are unveiled by a native park ranger. 
2020 Global Educator Award
Yasmine Sherif, director of Education Cannot Wait, and author of The Case for Humanity: An Extraordinary Session, received the MY HERO Global Educator Award.

People's Choice
A Moment in History, by filmmaker Paco Anselmi, is the winner of the 2020 People's Choice Award. The films pays tribute to the healthcare workers at the frontlines of the pandemic. Watch Anselmi accept the award, along with nurse Christine Fahy.
Dan Eldon Activist Award
View a short film about the Dan Eldon Activist Award and this year's winning film Taking Root, featuring organic farmer Mr Loi. The film was produced in Vietnam by students working with Actuality Media
Ron Kovic Peace Prize
This year we have two winners of the Ron Kovic Peace Prize: The Peace of Wild Things, directed by Katy Wang and featuring poet Wendell Berry; and The Curious Scroll: How Does Something Ugly Become Beautiful, by Director Andrew Purchin.

Ron Kovic Peace Prize
Eva Haller WTM Award Winners
Watch MY HERO board member Eva Haller present the Women Transforming Media Award to producers Charlotte Mangin and Sandra Rattley for Unladylike, featuring Bessie Coleman, which premiered on the PBS American Masters series.
Watch Eva Haller present the Women Transforming Media Award to the Australian film Looking After Our Spirit, featuring Dr. Anna Poelina, by filmmaker Mark Pearce.
Watch Eva Haller present the Women Transforming Media Award for the animated film Trudie's Goose, a film by C. Lily Ericsson, Cheri Gaulke, Samara Hutman and Liran Kapel of The Righteous Conversations Project.
Relationships First Award
This year there were two winners of the Relationships First Award, which is given annually by MY HERO board member Judith Anderson Ph.D. in behalf of The Foundation for the Contemporary Family.
Song Contest
Unsung Hero Song is the Song Contest winner. The U.K. music video was directed by Kitty Richardson, produced by Kitty Richardson and George Abalone, and edited by Katie Graubart, with animations by Jessica Ordaz.
Deepak Ramola
Ruth Ikeda (center)
Deepak Ramola, from India, received a Special Hero Award for his work as founder of Project FUEL (Forward the Understanding of Every Life Lesson), an organization that creates educational projects from the life lessons of people of all ages. 

A Special Hero Award was given to Ruth Ikeda, featured in the award-winning film Remember Us: An HIstoric Look at Anaheim High School, made by students at the school. This powerful documentary on Ikeda (mother of AUHSD Superintendent Michael B. Matsuda and AUHSD Professional Learning Coordinator Jackie Counts) documents the internment of Japanese American students during World War II. The film follows her return to Anaheim High School to complete her education.
Special Thanks to our Festival Sponsors
Donors
Seedlings Foundation
The William and Dorothy Meyers Foundation
Max Factor Family Foundation
Sandi and Ken Malamed
Nurit Adizes
Mitch Aiken
Judith Anderson Ph.D.
Sara Armstrong
Jennifer Borland
Arthur Buskin
Mark and Robin Cavanagh
Cynthia Costas Cohen
Claudia Crask
Odile DeWar
Kathy Eldon and Amy Eldon Turteltaub
Anne Molmud Factor
Rowena Lewis Gerber
Eva and Yoel Haller
Jerrilyn Jacobs
Ken Koslow
Ron Kovic
Barbara and Greg MacGillivray

Dorothy Meyers
Jeanne Meyers
Rita Stern Milch
Wendy Milette
Nancy Nickerson​
Laura Nietzer
Stu Pearlman
James Pelts
Connie Rensink
Jack Salvador
Joyce Sharman
Robert Shetterly
John Sierra
Gregory and Dale Stamos
Carolyn Hodge West

Special Award Sponsors

Eva Haller - Women Transforming Media
Ron Kovic - Peace Prize
The Foundation for the Contemporary Family - Relationships First
Barbara and Greg MacGillivray - Sylvia Earle Ocean Award
Kathy Eldon and Amy Turteltaub - Dan Eldon Activist Award
Big View Pictures, Inc. - Best of Fest
Thank you to our Festival Interns
Thanks to our Judges
Festival Judges
Sara Armstong
Betty Bailey
Mali Bickley
Skip Blumberg
Jennifer Borland
Dawn Cardenas
Michelle Falerne
Brenda Goodman
Becca Han
Helaine Head
Jerrilyn Jacobs
Kimberly Joseph
Trevaughn Leslie
Amy Malak
Jeanne Meyers
Rita Stern Milch
Wendy Milette
Coleman O’Brien
Rachel Priebe
Cara Jonas Delos Reyes
Cheikh Darou Seck
Nathan Smith
Rudy Westervelt
Joy Wolf
Coronavirus Community Heroes Art Award

Winners: (left) Coronavirus Heroes by Sarina Vaziri from Islamic Republic of Iran, Tehran; (right) Our Real Heroes, Our Corona Warriors by Hoorain Amjad from Karachi in Pakistan.
Ongoing Contests
Ongoing media arts competitions encourage creativity and self-expression and celebrate heroes around the world. Prizes are given to students and professional media makers.
Create Your Own Short Hero Films
Learn how to create your own short films
with our Media Arts Resources.
MY HERO Receives Five-star Rating from Common Sense Education
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