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Dear Friends,
Part 1 of the 2025 MY HERO International Film Festival's Virtual Awards Ceremony took place on December 13, 2025. Special Awards were presented by activists, teachers, mentors who are heroes in their own right.
All are invited to join us on January 10th for Part 2 of the Awards Ceremony, where more winners of the MY HERO International Film Festival will be announced.
Categories include the Relationships First Award, sponsored by the Foundation for the Contemporary Family, the Animation Awards, presented by Wacom, the Mattie Stepanek Poetry Prize, presented by Jeni Stepanek, the People's Choice Award, the Community Heroes Award and more.
The 2nd Awards Ceremony will take place
January 10, 2026
10am - noon Pacific time
Click here to register.
A Zoom link will be provided before the event.
Read on to learn about the winning films announced at the December 13th event.
| | Eva Haller Women Transforming Media Award | | |
Part one of the MY HERO International Film Festival Virtual Awards Ceremony was hosted by philanthropist and activist Eva Haller.. The program began with a tribute to her close friend Dr. Jane Goodall, a global icon known for compassion and environmental stewardship. MY HERO awarded Goodall, and her institute, the 2025 Global Educator's Award.
Haller was the first recipient of MY HERO's Women Transforming Media Award which celebrates filmmakers whose work showcases women using media to create positive change. After receiving her award, she decided to sponsor the annual award, now called the Eva Haller Women Transforming Media Award.
This year, there are three winners:
| Turning Points in History: Frances Kelsey and the Thalidomide Scandal | |
Turning Points in History: Frances Kelsey and the Thalidomide Scandal, directed by Harmony Ann Lin Yan-Li, is the winner in the Student Category. It features Frances Kelsey, a pharmacologist and physician who saved countless children from birth defects when she refused to authorize the drug thalidomide in the United States.
Yan-Li said, "Thank you again for this honor. I hope that in my journey to create work surrounding women who transform media, I can become one myself.”
Watch Turning Points in History: Frances Kelsey and the Thalidomide Scandal
| Portrait of a Ranger: Connie | |
Portrait of a Ranger: Connie, directed by Leo Plunkett and produced by Wildlife Works in Kenya, shines a spotlight on Constance Mwandaa, the first female ranger who helped pave the way for more female rangers.
Jen Ko, from Kenya, accepted the award, saying, "To everyone who supported this project, I want to extend my deepest appreciation. This award reminds us how important it is to share uplifting and encouraging stories."
Watch Portrait of a Ranger: Connie
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We Are Here is a documentary by filmmaker Tiffany Shlain. The film shows a feminist history tree ring she created using a large piece of salvaged wood. On it, she pinpoints tree rings that represent milestones in women’s history. When accepting her award, Shlain said, "“I am so honored to receive this award. Eva Haller is an amazing, inspirational leader, and it just means a lot to me."
Watch We Are Here
| | The Sing for Hope Music Video Award | | Director Kati Egely - accepting her Sing for Hope Award for 'Como el Caracol ‘Like the Snail. | | |
Animator and director Kati Egely, joined the awards ceremony from Hungary to accept the Sing for Hope Music Video Award for her animated short Como el Caracol ‘Like the Snail.’ The film was made in collaboration with singer-composer-musician Ruth Hillar of the of the Argentinian band Canticuénticos
The award is given by the nonprofit Sing for Hope by their generous board member Eva Haller. Camille Zamora, of Sing for Hope, shared her favorite lyrics: "When I want something to turn out well for me, I know that I have to not get distracted. I have to concentrate like the snail. With patience, everything turns out better."
Watch 'Como el Caracol ‘Like the Snail
| | The Ron Kovic Peace Prize | | Ron Kovic is an author, artist and peace activist. His memoir Born on the Fourth of July was a New York Times best seller, and its film adaptation directed by Oliver Stone won multiple Academy Awards. He chooses the winner and presents the annual Kovic Peace Prize, which honors filmmakers who tell stories about peace and nonviolent action. | Clockwise from left: Ron Kovic, Michael Parks Randa and Lewis Randa | |
This year's winner is Michael Parks Randa for his documentary The Courage of Conscience, a film celebrating the activism of his father Lewis Randa. Kovic deemed it an inspiring and important film. Randa said, “This award, and to be coming from you (Ron), is deeply meaningful." He added, "You (and my dad) are two of the greatest examples of the importance of humanitarianism and, and peace and non-violence.”
Watch The Courage of Conscience
| | The 'WOJ' Youth Reporter Award | | Esther WOJ" Wojcicki '- presenter | | |
Esther Wojcicki, a world-renowned educator and author, presented the 'WOJ' Youth Reporter Award, which honors young storytellers who highlight individuals working for positive change.
This year, Wojcicki chose three winners:
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Bottles of Change, directed by Ethan Dumper, Nathaniel Dumper and Eloise Dumper, showcases a group of students who take charge of recycling. Ethan and Nathaniel , who were in attendance, thanked the MY HERO International Film Festival and Esther Wojcicki and shared how honored they and Eloise were to accept the award.
Watch Bottles of Change
| More Crocodiles Than People: Cambodia's Hidden Story | |
More Crocodiles Than People: Cambodia’s Hidden Story, directed by Kian Sebastian Chap, follows the journey from breeding farms to modern conservation efforts, highlighting the fight to save Cambodia’s critically endangered Siamese crocodile. When accepting the award, Chap said, "Cambodia has a difficult history, but it is also full of beauty, culture, and kindness. I hope for peace, because this is my home. I want my generation to grow up protecting nature and culture, understanding one another, and telling stories that matter."
Watch More Crocodiles Than People: Cambodia’s Hidden Story
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Mario Molina, directed by Kevin Rodriguez, a participant in the MY HERO Media Education Program at Ascot Avenue Elementary in Los Angeles. Kevin accepted his awrard saying, “I just want to say that I’m very happy. Thank you. And thank you to my teachers, Ms. Dawson and Mr. Aaron, and to everyone who helped me. Thank you to the MY HERO Project for giving me this opportunity.”
Watch Mario Molina
| | Daniel Eldon Turteltaub - presenter | | |
Kathy Eldon, Amy Eldon-Turteltaub & Daniel Turteltaub of Creative Visions Foundation present the Dan Eldon Activist Award each year to celebrate stories that honor the legacy of Dan Eldon, a fearless activist, artist and photojournalist. Dan dedicated his life to telling the untold stories of those in need. He died on assignment in Somalia in 1993.
The following recipients of the Dan Eldon Activist Award were presented by Eldon's nephew Daniel Eldon Turteltaub:
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Pride of the Gobi, by award-winning filmmaker Will Parrinello, tells the story of 81-year-old Batmunkh Luvsandash, an activist from Mongolia’s Gobi Desert who created a 66,000-acre protected area, which is adjacent to hundreds of thousands of acres he had already helped to protect. The areas form a defensive wall against the area’s fast-growing mining industry. For his work in helping to preserve native animals and endemic plants in the fragile ecosystem, Luvsandash received the 2025 Goldman Environmental Prize for Asia, which is often referred to as the Green Nobel Prize.
Parinello thanked the Eldons and his field producing partner B Yan and shared a message from Luvsandash that read, “As a proud citizen of Mongolia, I'm happy to greet you, my brothers and sisters in the United States of America. The greatest gift we can all leave our children and grandchildren is clean air, a healthy environment, and the beautiful planet we inherited from our ancestors. Mother Earth and Father Sky deserve our ultimate respect."
He announced that he is going to donate the prize money to the Mongolian Ecology Center in Ulaanbaatar for the creation of a youth education program for Mongolian students and inspire the next generation to protect and defend the environment.
Watch Pride of the Gobi
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What We Choose Not to See by Meilin Shen and Dylan Han, took top honors in the High School category. The documentary questions the true cost to a society when homelessness is criminalized. Through interviews with unhoused individuals, nonprofit leaders, professionals, and city officials, the film asks if silence is being mistaken for progress.
Shen, Han, and fellow students accepted the award saying, "It is such an honor to receive this award, especially because of Dan Elon's legacy at creativity, compassion, and courage. Thank you for supporting young activists and filmmakers like ourselves and giving us space for homeless individual stories to be told.”
Watch What We Choose Not to See
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A highlight of the ceremony was the presentation of this year’s Best of Fest Award, which went to filmmaker and environmental advocate Max Romey for his animated short film A Little Story About Forever. The film features Romey and his son Kip, who are making a book about the concept of "forever." When Max feels overwhelmed by the threat of forever chemicals, he calls upon actor Mark Ruffalo, who offers words of hope.
Accepting his award, Romey spoke of the importance of staying hopeful and creative in challenging times. "It's so hard these days because it does feel like the world is so dark. In times like these, it takes those little stories, those little bits of creativity, and those little candles lit in the darkness to make a difference. Seeing what everybody's done here, I feel like I'm surrounded by those candles in the darkness."
Click here to read more about Romey, who also won the 2024 Sylvia Earle Ocean Conservation Award.
Watch A Little Story About Forever
| | MY HERO Film Fest Awards - January 10th | | |
Sat, Jan 10, 2026
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM PT
This is an online event.
There is no charge to attend but donations are gratefully accepted.
Register here. to receive a Zoom link before the event
About the MY HERO International Film Festival
The My Hero Film Festival is an annual event dedicated to showcasing films that celebrate the power of the human spirit. The festival provides a platform for filmmakers to share inspirational stories of everyday heroes. Thanks to generous sponsors, prizes are awarded to elementary, middle school, high school, college and professionals in a variety of categories including documentary, narrative, music video, animation, experimental, and more. The festival aims to inspire audiences to recognize the heroism in their own lives and encourage positive actions in their communities. Learn more.
About The MY HERO Project:
Since 1995, more than 100 million people from 190 countries have participated in The MY HERO Project. Our programs highlight the work of global and local heroes who address the major challenges of our time. We support cross-cultural learning, human rights, environmental awareness, media literacy and the arts. Visit our website (myhero.com).
About the Eva Haller Salon Series
The Eva Haller Salon Series brings together artists, scientists, media makers and activists from around the world. The salons take place, online, every Saturday at 2:00 PM PST. The Salon Archives are hosted on The MY HERO website. To request an invitation to attend the Salon Series, please email myhero@myheroproject.org.
| |
Sat, Jan 10, 2026
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM PT
This is an online event.
There is no charge to attend but donations are gratefully accepted.
Register here. to receive a Zoom link before the event
About the MY HERO International Film Festival
The My Hero Film Festival is an annual event dedicated to showcasing films that celebrate the power of the human spirit. The festival provides a platform for filmmakers to share inspirational stories of everyday heroes. Thanks to generous sponsors, prizes are awarded to elementary, middle school, high school, college and professionals in a variety of categories including documentary, narrative, music video, animation, experimental, and more. The festival aims to inspire audiences to recognize the heroism in their own lives and encourage positive actions in their communities. Learn more.
About The MY HERO Project:
Since 1995, more than 100 million people from 190 countries have participated in The MY HERO Project. Our programs highlight the work of global and local heroes who address the major challenges of our time. We support cross-cultural learning, human rights, environmental awareness, media literacy and the arts. Visit our website (myhero.com).
About the Eva Haller Salon Series
The Eva Haller Salon Series brings together artists, scientists, media makers and activists from around the world. The salons take place, online, every Saturday at 2:00 PM PST. The Salon Archives are hosted on The MY HERO website. To request an invitation to attend the Salon Series, please email myhero@myheroproject.org.
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