Winter Film Awards Indie Film Fest to showcase diversity in Film

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 18-27 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 27th with a glittering Awards Ceremony and after-party.

Festival Founder George Isaacs says “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 our filmmakers with a dazzling chance to begin their careers in the film industry.”

Corporate and local support of Winter Film Awards plays an critical role in the life of the Festival and underscores WFA’s commitment to quality, adventure and diversity in the art of cinema. WFA is privileged to continue their collaboration with Gray Line New York, Ride of Fame, B&H Photo & Video, Video Blocks/ AudioBlocks/ GraphicStock, Sony Creative Software, Jungle Software, Cyberlink, Glidecam, JT Talent, Gotham Mini Storage, Museum of Sex, PSPrint quality and dependable online print services, Van Diemens NYC Restaurant & Bar, Yelp, Zacuto film rigs and ProductionHUB, Inc. an online marketplace for broadcast TV, motion picture, pro video, live event, corporate & digital media production.

WFA is delighted to welcome new partners Carmel Car & Limousine Service, the official car service of Winter Film Awards, NYC Post Group, Big Apple Con, Bliss Spa, CourseHorse.com, Distribber – get 100% of revenues. Keep all your rights. Submit once for all stores, Film Collaborative,
IndiePix Films, Rhino Camera Gear, exclusive ticketing partner Eventcombo, Women’s Film Critic Circle (WFCC), Shake Share Media and Success with Teamwork.

WFA is grateful for the support of Prof. Charles Lowry’s Marketing Class at Pace University, Prof. Viktor Koen’s Class at School of Visual Arts, and Dr. George Priovolos’ Public Relations Class at Iona College.

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.