Diversity in Film celebrated at NYC's Winter Film Awards Indie Film Fest

NEW YORK - Feb. 14, 2016 - PRLog -- While Holllywood reels from ongoing accusations of homogeneity and the Academy Awards scrambles for a more inclusive overhaul, New York City’s rapidly growing Winter Film Awards Indie Film Festival, now in its fifth year, is establishing itself as a dynamic and exciting event in the heart of the City.  Winter Film Awards focuses on diversity in Independent Film, with a special emphasis on highlighting women and minority filmmakers. They showcase films from emerging filmmakers from around the world in all genres and seek to show our audience a dazzling array of entertaining cinematic content they would never have the opportunity to see otherwise.

Among the 86 Official Selections to be screened at Cinema Village in the heart of Greenwich Village (22 East 12th Street, New York, NY 10003), is a diverse mixture of 12 documentaries, 34 shorts, 10 narrative features, 9 animations, 7 music videos, 9 horror films and 5 web series, including 8 student films, 36 female directors, 40% of films by people of color and representation from 26 countries.  43% of accepted films pass the "Bechdel Test".  The majority of the films were made for a budget under $50,000.

Opening night for the 2016 Festival will take place February 18 with a filmmaker’s reception and kick-off party. The festivities continue February 18-26 with ten jam-packed days of film screenings, discussion panels, and networking events. The festival will come to a close on the evening of February 26th with a glittering Awards Ceremony/Red Carpet Gala and after-party at the glittering club 230Fifth (230 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10001).

Emerging filmmakers with low budgets and no connections are so often ignored in favor of the standard big budget generic action films. Diverse, exciting low budget films are created all over the world; it is critical for festivals to showcase them. Indie film festivals are often the sole means for the community to share personal stories from around the world, and WFA’s location in the center of the action provides filmmakers with a dazzling chance to begin their careers in the film industry.

Executive Director, Steffanie Finn says “We are so proud to present our slate of 86 films and are delighted with the sheer variety of films we’ve selected. Films range from “Kung Fury”, a gonzo sci-fi 80s style action kung fu extravaganza, to “My Stolen Revolution”, a deeply personal and heartrending documentary exploring the lives of women who were political prisoners in Iran after the 1979 revolution.  We have “Villa Diodati”, a dreamlike chamber opera and “Tuyul | Part 1”, an Indonesian horror film.  We have short films exploring depression (“Dark Light”) and others wondering why a sweater smells bad (“What Happened to Susan”).  Each of our 3-hour screening block mixes genres, so our attendees are guaranteed to find something they love in each block!”

Winter Film Awards is an all-volunteer women and minority-run 501(c)3 organization founded in 2011 by NYC filmmakers and arts enthusiasts. It was built with the dream of making indie film more accessible to the public and providing driven, talented artists the opportunity to break through competitive barriers to establish meaningful careers in film. Some of the accepted filmmakers have years of experience; others are so new to filmmaking that the Festival is the very first time that they see their work on a big screen.

For more information on tickets, schedules, sponsors, film descriptions and more, please visit www.WinterFilmAwards.com and find us on Facebook.