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MY HERO Film Festival
The MY HERO Film Festival
The MY HERO International Film Festival highlights films and stories of unsung heroes around the globe.
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2016 First Place Winners

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Maxima Acuna, Water Song
BEST OF FEST
Water Song
Will Parrinello
Featured Hero: MÁXIMA ACUÑA
Eva Haller
Women Transforming Media
EVA HALLER
Produced by The MY HERO Project / Jeanne Meyers
Esther Wojcicki
GLOBAL EDUCATOR AWARD
ESTHER WOJCICKI
Woj! by Jeanne Meyers & Wendy Milette
Jeni Stepanek
HUMANITARIAN AWARD
JENI STEPANEK
Video tribute from Oprah Winfrey's Super Soul Sunday
Righteous Conversations
MY HERO MEDIA AWARD
Righteous Conversations Project
Liz Mermin
RON KOVIC PEACE PRIZE
Post-war Machismo: Be a Man
Liz Mermin
Dr. Miguel Nicolelis
IMMERSIVE STORYTELLING AWARD
DR. MIGUEL NICOLELIS
Walk Again Project
Trey Carlisle
EMERGING ARTIST AWARD
TREY CARLISLE
Us and Us
Aaron Flynn, Hurley
PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD
Waves for Water - Nepal Earthquake
Produced by Hurley - Directed by: Aaron Flynn
Featured Hero: Jon Rose
Emily Driscoll
SYLVIA EARLE OCEAN CONSERVATION AWARD
Invisible Ocean: Plankton & Plastic
Emily Driscoll
Humane Society of Silicon Valley
RELATIONSHIPS FIRST AWARD
Mutual Rescue: Eric & Peety
Featured Hero: Humane Society of Silicon Valley
Howard Schultz and Rajiv Chandrasekaran
RELATIONSHIPS FIRST AWARD
Upstanders: The Mosque Across the Street
Howard Schultz and Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Ramses Mosley-Wise and Kamau Mantague
TEEN PRESS AWARD
Superheroes of a New Origin
Ramses Mosley-Wise & Kamau Mantague
Anne Goursaud
SPECIAL HERO AWARD
Marcia Nasatir
Featured in: A Classy Broad
Anne Goursaud
Rava Films
SPECIAL HERO AWARD
Jody Wood
Featured in: FIELDWORKS: Jody Wood, Beauty in Transition
Rava Films
Howard Schultz and Rajiv Chandrasekaran
TOLERANCE
Upstanders: The Mosque Across the Street - 1st Place
Howard Schultz and Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Mill Valley Film Group and Will Parrinello
PORTRAITS OF INDIVIDUALS
Water Song
Mill Valley Film Group/Will Parrinello
Featured Hero: MÁXIMA ACUÑA
Ellie Laks and Joey Julius
PORTRAITS OF ORGANIZATIONS
Maybelle's Story
Ellie Laks / Producer: Joey Julius
Emily Abt
TRAILER
Daddy Don't Go
Emily Abt
David Freid
ENVIRONMENTAL
Plastic Bottle Village
David Freid
Christian Als and Kristoffer Juel
HUMANITARIAN
Now I Am a Refugee
Christian Als & Kristoffer Juel
Gabriel Diamond
HUMAN RIGHTS
The Equal Justice Initiative
Gabriel Diamond
Hossein Fazeli
INDY FEATURES IN DEVELOPMENT
Phoolan (Trailer)
Hossein Fazeli
David Puls
MUSIC VIDEO
Yacouba - The Village Fool
David Puls
Heiko Grimm, Carlos Godo Borras, Irene Buesa Garcia
EXPERIMENTAL
I AM MORGAN ~ STOLEN FREEDOM
Heiko Grimm, Carlos Godó Borrás, Irene Buesa García
Yaser Talebi
NARRATIVE
My Heart
Yaser Talebi
Chad Howitt
DOCUMENTARY
Welcome to the Last Bookstore
Chad Howitt
Anny Havland
SERIES
Talk It Up TV - Hannah's Dream
Anny Havland
Bridgette Auger and Itab Azzam Prod. Hal Scardino
WOMEN'S RIGHTS
Antigone of Syria: Meet the Inspiring Fadwa from Damascus
Bridgette Auger & Itab Azzam Prod. Hal Scardino
Advocate Creative
OVERCOMING OBSTACLES
Mutual Rescue: Eric & Peety
Advocate Creative
Liam Saint-Pierre
INDIVIDUALITY
The Way of the Dodo
Liam Saint-Pierre
Lee Clow
PSA
Nature is Speaking - Julia Roberts is Mother Nature
Lee Clow
James Cunningham
COLLEGE NARRATIVE
The Dragon's Scale
James Cunningham
David Hutchinson
COLLEGE DOCUMENTARY
How Far I Want To Go
David Hutchinson
Alex Sorto and Hugo Castillo
STUDENT/MENTOR MUSIC VIDEO
Hard Times
Alex Sorto & Hugo Castillo
Trey Carlisle, Cole Kawana, Sebastian Ko, and Jordan Seibel
High School Documentary
Us and Us
Trey Carlisle, Cole Kawana, Sebastian Ko and Jordan Seibel
Kevin Gordon
HIGH SCHOOL NARRATIVE
Reflections
Kevin Gordon
Anna Matacz
COLLEGE ANIMATION
The Present
Jacob Frey
Iskander Krayenbosch
ANIMATION
The Hero's Journey
Iskander Krayenbosch
Fauzia Aziz Minallah
STUDENT/MENTOR
Amai's Paintings of Peace
Fauzia Aziz Minallah
Paul Santana, Prod. Brad English
POETIC
Dayvon's Dream
Paul Santana, Prod. Brad English
Deborah Van Dyke, Dir. Yoni Goodman
EDUCATIONAL
The Story of Ebola
Deborah Van Dyke / Dir. Yoni Goodman
Howard Schultz and Rajiv Chandrasekaran [Starbucks]
YOUTH ACTIVISM
Upstanders: The Kids Who Killed an Incinerator
Howard Schultz and Rajiv Chandrasekaran [Starbucks]
Taly Oehler
TEACHER
Notes on a Violin
Taly Oehler
Cecilie Stuart, Claire Bryett Andrew
ARTS HEROES
CONSUMED
Cecilie Stuart, Claire Bryett Andrew
Ben Schaffer, Faiz Shamji, Jacob Adivi, and Rene Servin
HIGH SCHOOL PSA
The Test
Ben Schaffer, Faiz Shamji, Jacob Adivi, and Rene Servin
Michael Schwarz
STRIDES IN SCIENCE & TECH
The $1 Microscope
Michael Schwarz

Complete Winners List

Tolerance

Professional Portraits of Individuals

Professional Portraits of Organizations

Trailer

Environmental

Humanitarian

Human Rights

Indy Features in Development

Music Video

Experimental

Narrative

Documentary

Series

Women's Rights

Overcoming Obstacles

Individuality

PSA

College Narrative

College Documentary

Student/Mentor Music Video

High School Documentary

High School Narrative

Animation College

Animation

Student/Mentor

Poetic

Educational

Youth Activism

Teacher

Arts Heroes

High School PSA

Strides in Science and Technology