Artivism is a portmanteau word combining art and activism, and is sometimes also referred to as Social Artivism.
Born into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids is a 2004 Indian-American documentary film about the children of prostitutes in Sonagachi, Kolkata's red light district. The widely acclaimed film, written and directed by Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman, won a string of accolades including the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2005.
Kishan Shrikanth, professionally known as Kishan SS or Master Kishan, is a film actor and director from Bangalore, Karnataka. As of January 2006, having acted in 24 films and in many popular Indian soap opera, he directed a feature film, C/o Footpath, about an orphaned boy who wants to go to school. The film is adapted from a short story written by himself, and the cast includes prominent Indian actors Jackie Shroff, Saurabh Shukla, B. Jayashree, Sudeep and Tara. Kishan himself plays the lead. The film has been dubbed into five major Indian languages and it has also been released in English. It was first shot in Kannada and the original version was released on 26 November 2006.
Seoul Train is a 2004 documentary film that deals with the dangerous journeys of North Korean defectors fleeing through or to China. These journeys are both dangerous and daring, since if caught, they face forced repatriation, torture, and possible execution.
Kevin Booth is an American film director, producer, lecturer and musician. He was known for his documentary film series American Drug War. Booth worked with comedian Bill Hicks, until the time of his death on February 26, 1994 and posthumously produced Hicks' records Rant in E Minor and Arizona Bay.
Vijayanagara, is a residential neighborhood in west Bangalore, India. It derives its name from the Vijayanagara empire that flourished in South India during the 15th and 16th centuries. It is bound by Mysore Road and Magadi Road, with Chord Road cutting through. It is the northernmost area in South Bangalore.
Kavitha Lankesh is an Indian film director, screenwriter and a lyricist known for her work in Kannada cinema industry. She began as a documentary film-maker before directing her first feature film, Deveeri (1999), which went on to win international, national and state awards. She is considered to be one of the renowned film-makers of Kannada cinema. She has directed and produced more than fifty documentaries/informational films and more than forty corporate films. Some of the films Kavitha directed have won awards and accolades from critics.
Are the Kids Alright? is a documentary film which explores mental health care for children and youths at risk in Texas. The filmmaker, Ellen Spiro, gained unprecedented access to troubled children and their families, as well as the judicial, psychiatric and correctional institutions. By following several different families, the filmmakers document the results of the decline in the availability of mental health services for the youth who most desperately need it.
Artists and Orphans: A True Drama is a 2001 American documentary film documenting a group of American artists traveling to the Republic of Georgia for an art festival, and their subsequent effort to provide humanitarian aid to a group of local orphans. Directed and written by Lianne Klapper McNally, upon its debut in 2001, the Daily Nexus described it as "heart-wrenching and eventually heart-warming," as well as "short, gritty and brilliantly scored." The film won Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, and it was nominated for Best Documentary Short Subject at the 74th Academy Awards. Artists and Orphans had won multiple film festival awards by 2002, debuting on television several months later through WE tv.
The San Antonio Film Festival (SAFILM) was founded in 1994 by Adam Rocha as a video festival. It was later renamed the San Antonio Underground Film Festival and then finally the San Antonio Film Festival. It is now the biggest film festival in South Texas.
The Artivist Film Festival & Awards is an international film festival and awards ceremony dedicated to recognizing activist efforts of filmmakers, specifically in the areas of human rights, child advocacy, environmental preservation, and animal rights.
Shabnam Virmani is a documentary film maker and artist-in-residence at the Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology in Bangalore since 2002. Being also a co-founder of the Drishti Media Arts and Human Rights Collective, Ms. Virmani has directed several documentaries, some of which have won awards. She's also a composer and festivities participant.
Returned: Child Soldiers of Nepal's Maoist Army is a 2008 documentary film directed by American filmmaker Robert Koenig, and written by Robert Koenig and Brandon Kohrt. The documentary premiered in Hollywood, CA at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre in 2008 at the 5th Annual Artivist Film Festival, where it won the Artivist Award for Children's Advocacy. Returned also won the award for Best Documentary Short at the Atlanta Underground Film Festival that same year.
Nila Madhab Panda is an Indian film producer and director. Panda has directed and produced over 70 films, documentaries, and shorts based on social issues, such as climate change, child labor, education, water issues, sanitation and other developmental issues in India. Many of his films are based on his own experiences. He has won several awards and received critical acclaim for his films which have been described as "entertaining yet socially relevant."
Dylan Verrechia is a Barthélemois award-winning film director, auteur, screenwriter, director of photography, and producer. He grew up in Saint Barthélemy, French West Indies, bedridden with severe ankylosing spondylitis for many years. At age twelve, he was sent to Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital in France. He then started correspondence courses from the National Centre for Distance Education. After the national service, Verrechia studied Cinema at Paris Nanterre University taught by Jean Rouch from la Cinémathèque française. He graduated with honors in Film & TV from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, and became soon after a U.S. citizen. Verrechia is a director of Mexican cinema, and his films have won awards worldwide.
Tierra madre is a 2010 film made in Tecate and Tijuana, Mexico. It was directed by Dylan Verrechia, and co-written by Aidee Gonzalez based on her real life, with original music by Nortec Collective and Paco Mendoza.
Steven Ascher is an American independent director, producer and writer. He was nominated for an Academy Award and has received the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival among many other awards. His book The Filmmaker’s Handbook is a bestselling text.
Subhrajit Mitra is a filmmaker from Kolkata, India. He is known for his work in the Bengali film industry.
Brett D. Morgen is an American documentary filmmaker. His directorial credits include The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002), Crossfire Hurricane (2012), Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck (2015), Jane (2017), and Moonage Daydream (2022).
Abhinav Kamal is an Indian entrepreneur, film director, producer and screenwriter. Kamal made his directorial debut with On the Other Side, a psychological thriller, while he was a student at Institute of Management Technology, Nagpur. The film was showcased under Shamiana. As a filmmaker, he is known for an award-winning English - Kannada documentary, Pujari Umma Shankar. He is also known for his work in an Australian English independent film as an associate director. Abhinav has also Directed the Medical Humor web series Starting Troubles, featuring Renuka Shahane and Parikshit Sahani
