MY HERO International Film Festival

Dear Friends,

You are all invited to take part in the 17th Annual MY HERO International Film Festival. This family-friendly event will be held virtually on December 4, 2021. There is no fee to attend but reservations are required. After you register you will receive the link(s) to attend the virtual festival via ZOOM. Please know your donations are greatly appreciated.

(Register here)

There will be a morning program, at 10 am Pacific time, which includes clips from select 1st-place films. At 2pm, the Special Awards Program will be presented. Both sessions will feature inspiring speakers, short film clips, filmmakers and heroes from around the world.

All winning short films will be available on the MY HERO website for you and your family to enjoy throughout the holiday season.

We wish you a happy, healthy holiday!

The MY HERO team

2021 MY HERO Media Award

The Goldman Environmental Prize wins 2021 MY HERO Media Award.

2021 Global Educator Award

Frances Moore Lappé and her daughter, Anna Blythe Lappé are receiving the 2021 MY HERO Global Educator Award. For more than 50 years, "Diet for a Small Planet," and their work with SmallPlanet.org, has been changing millions of lives around the world.

2021 Media Arts Educator Award

Special Award Presenters

Eva Haller, philanthropist and mentor to generations of women, will present the Women Transforming Media Award. The award offers $2500 in prizes for emerging student and professional filmmakers.

Kathy Eldon, of Creative Visions Foundation, will present the Dan Eldon Activist Award, which is awarded each year to a filmmaker who best uses media to bring about positive change. The award comes with $1500 in cash prizes to be shared by the winners.

Ron Kovic, renowned author, painter and activist, will present the annual Ron Kovic Peace Prize , which awards $1000 to the filmmaker who most effectively addresses the issue of peace.

Esther Wojcicki, esteemed media arts educator, author and co-founder of Tract, will present the WOJ Youth Reporter Award. This year, the award offers $1050 in prizes to be shared by the winning filmmakers.

Judith Anderson, Ph.D., founder of The Foundation for the Contemporary Family, will present the Relationships First Award, a $1500 prize honoring short films that depict the power and importance of contemporary family relationships.

Click here to REGISTER to attend this special event.

For more details, please visit myhero.com/FilmFestival

Professional and Student Artists

Explore MY HERO Gallery and Contests

December 20 Deadline

Use MY HERO's Media Arts Resources to help your students create their short hero films for the 2022 MY HERO International Film Festival. View all winning films online.

Eva Haller Salon Series

Recent salons have included a conversation with Yasmine Sherif (MY HERO’s 2020 Global Educator Award winner) and Mohamed Sidibay talking about their work to support the rights of all children to an education.

Special thanks to MY HERO Board Member Eva Haller for hosting the 17th Annual MY HERO International Film Festival on December 4, at 2 pm.

MY HERO Learning Circles

The current session of the MY HERO Learning Circle is in full swing, bringing together teachers and students from Egypt, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Pakistan, Tunisia, Moldova, Brazil, and the United States to explore heroism through writing, digital arts, audio, drama, and short film.

As students share ideas about heroism, they are learning about each other's cultures. The learning circle is a collaboration between iEARN (International Education and Resource Network) and The MY HERO Project. The next session will begin at the end of January. For additional information contact: laura@myheroproject.org