Festival | 2023 Festival | Community Partners | 2023 Awards | Festival Photos
It’s a Wrap!
This season, we presented 45 films over five days, welcomed social justice filmmakers and special guests from around the country, and presented workshops and panel discussions focusing on reproductive justice, restorative justice, and amplifying youth voices. What an amazing, supportive community of festival-goers, donors, and community members. We are very fortunate to be a part of this community and could not present this event without all of you.
On behalf of the board and staff of the Social Justice Film Festival, we extend our heartfelt thanks to our community, filmmakers, partners, volunteers, participants, and audience members who celebrated with us during the 2023 film festival that took place October 11-15 in Seattle in-person and in North America online October 16-22.
The Social Justice Film Festival harnesses the power of visual storytelling to inspire, empower, and educate. SJFF serves as a resource and a critical lens to democratize filmmaking and produce brave, cutting-edge documentary and narrative stories otherwise absent from the mainstream media. It is a place for activism, where content creators use visual storytelling to imagine and inspire transformational change.
Festival Trailer
Social Justice Film Festival Community Partners
Washington Family Engagement
501 Commons
Working Films
Restorative Community Partners
Real Change
Northwest Animal Rights Network
350 Seattle
Crisis Connection
University District Food Bank
Seattle 4 Assange
Northwest Film Forum
University Heights Center
Friends of WPC Nepal
Roosevelt Alumni for Racial Equity
Lifewerq Project
Speak with Purpose
BLKBRY
Center for Indigenous Midwifery
Faith Action Network
Restorative Community Partners
2023 Social Justice Film Festival Award Recipients
Feature Documentary Bronze
ADDICTED TO LIFE
Pola Rapaport
Short Narrative Gold
THE FOURTH
Johnny Kirk
Medium Length Documentary Bronze
HEART: Serving our Neighbors in Crisis
Dilsey Davis, Hannah Hamza
Youth Visions Award
WAITING FOR BUFFALO
Grace Beutter, Aidan O'Malley
Feature Documentary Gold
ON THESE GROUNDS
Garrett Zevgetis
Short Documentary Bronze
MUSTANG MOMENTS
Jamie Williams
Short Documentary Gold
OVERTOWN'S LIVING LEGACY
Gina Margillo
Medium Length Narrative Silver
COMMON AS RED HAIR
Director - Robbie Robertson
Short Documentary Silver
WORLDS MOST MISERABLE PRIEST
Xin Xue
Medium Length Documentary Silver
BY MY SIDE
Vicki Topaz, Wynn Padula
Short Narrative Silver
SUNFLOWER FIELD
Polina Buchak
Director Choice Award
WHERE DO THEY GO? The Painful Reality of Seattle's RV Homeless Sweeps
Mark Horvath, Alex Gasaway
Medium Length Documentary Gold
CALLS FROM HOME
Sylvia Ryerson
Feature Documentary Silver
ITHAKA
Ben Lawrence
Anne Paxton SJFF Founder's Award
CASE NOTES
Sebastian Rogers