View Winning Films from the 2021 MY HERO International Film Festival

MY HERO International Film Festival

Congratulations to all the winners of the

2021 MY HERO International Film Festival!

The 17th annual MY HERO International Film Festival was held virtually on December 4, 2021. The festival brought together student and professional filmmakers and their heroes from around the world.

All winning short films are available online for you and your family to enjoy throughout the holiday season. View all winning films.

Happy Holidays!

The MY HERO team

Rainforest Action Wins Best of Fest

The film Rainforest Action, produced by Will Parrinello of the Mill Valley Film Group, is the winner of the Best in Fest award. The hero of the film is Nemonte Nenquimo, from Ecuador, a Goldman Environmental Prize winner.

Winner - MY HERO Media Award

The Goldman Environmental Prize

The Goldman Environmental Prize is the winner of the 2021 MY HERO Media Award. The organization honors the achievements and leadership of grassroots environmental activists from around the world, inspiring us all to take action to protect our planet.

Winners - Global Educator Award

Frances Moore Lappé - Anna Blythe Lappé

Frances Moore Lappé and her daughter, Anna Blythe Lappé collaborated on the 50th anniversary edition of "Diet for a Small Planet," a book that has reached more than three million people and promotes healthy choices for a sustainable planet. Their books and their work with SmallPlanet.org, has been changing millions of lives around the world.

Winner - Media Arts Educator Award

Holly Carter - BYkids.org

Holly Carter, founder and Executive Director of BYkids, is the winner of the 2021 Global Media Educator Award. BYkids is a non-profit organization that mentors teens around the world in telling their stories through film. The short films are broadcast on public television and are distributed to schools in America through Discovery Education.

Winner - Ron Kovic Peace Prize

& Women Transforming Media Award

Samar Minallah Khan

Samar Minallah Khan, from Pakistan, is the winner of the 2021 Ron Kovic Peace Prize and the 2021 Eva Haller Women Transforming Media Award. Khan's film Outswing features a program that is changing lives of girls through the simple act of playing cricket.

Eva Haller Women Transforming Media Award

Student Winner - Anna Brodine

Kansas high school student Anna Brodine is the winner of the WTM YOUTH Award for her film Joan Ganz Cooney: The Unsung Hero Who Led Us All To Sesame Street.

Winners - Dan Eldon Activist Award

Presented by Kathy Eldon

A Way Forward, by Jacob Seigel-Brielle & Isaac Seigel-Boettner, of Pedal Born Pictures, shows the power that a simple bicycle can have in empowering young women to pursue their own dreams, while inspiring others to do the same.

Rainforest Action, by Will Parrinello and the Mill Valley Film Group, celebrates the work of Nemonte Nenquimo, of Ecuador, in her effort to save the rainforest.

Winners - Dan Eldon Youth Activist Award

57 Years Ago is an anti-racism music video by Jackson Carrico, a student at New Roads High School in Santa Monica. The film was made with the permission of WMG (DAX) for the use of the song "Black Lives Matter."

8 Minutes and 46 Seconds, by Angel Miracle Espericueta, is a poem dedicated to the memory of George Floyd.

People's Choice Award

Faith Guilbault - BYkids.org

Filmmaker Faith Guilbault is a 16-year old with cerebral palsy. Her film Faith's World invites the audience to experience living with special needs, in hopes that we will all treat those who are differently-abled with humanity and normalcy. The film, directed by Faith, was produced by BYkids.org.

Relationships First Award

Daniel Roy

Daniel Roy's award-winning video is a magical rendition of the story of his very unique four-parent family. Daniel, a 2020 University of Pennsylvania neurobiology graduate, makes no claims to be a real-life Harry Potter. His magic is all about science — sleight of hand and sleight of mind. Learn more about Daniel Roy.

Emerging Artist

Kitty Richardson

Kitty Richardson is a talented filmmaker, musician, songwriter and activist. Her short films have won numerous awards at the MY HERO International Film Festival.

WOJ Youth Reporter Award

Presented by Esther Wojcicki - Tract

Esther Wojcicki, esteemed media arts educator, author and co-founder of Tract, presents the WOJ Youth Reporter Award.

WOJ Youth Reporter winners:

As An Asthmatic is a short, animated video about the impact of vaping on youth. The film is directed by high school students Alayna DeGraef, Elise DeGraef, and Bailey Revering, with the nonprofit media program In Progress in Minnesota.

TRANSPARENCY: Becoming Oliver, directed by Tessa Grace Morell, is a short, experimental documentary made to visually accompany the original poem "Becoming Oliver." Tess is a student at James Wood High School in Virginia.

THANK A HERO: MAURICE HILLEMAN celebrates an unsung hero who helped develop numerous vaccines for the prevention of measles, mumps, chicken pox, meningitis and pneumonia, which have saved millions of lives across the globe. The film is directed by sisters Jasmine and Aurelia Martoglio, from Batchelor Middle School in Indiana.

Short Films for Young Children

View curated short films from the 2021 MY HERO International Film Festival designed for young children and their families. Please share this resource with elementary school teachers that you know.