Modern Films and the Kering Foundation today announced the Award Winners for the third annual 16 DAYS 16 FILMS Initiative which took place online from 25 November to 10 December. Inspired by the UN Women campaign 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence, the Initiative officially concluded today with a streamed online event and Awards Announcement, hosted in partnership with Girls On Film and moderated by British film critic and broadcaster Anna Smith.
First place went to Melissa Elizondo Moreno’s film The Road is a Red Thread (Mex) about femicide and the thousands of women who continue to ‘disappear’ each year in the state of Mexico. As part of her prize, Moreno will also receive the opportunity to create a new public service announcement for UK Says No More, a national campaign focused on raising awareness and preventing domestic abuse and sexual violence in the UK.
The second-place prize went to B. Monét’s Ballet After Dark (USA), which highlights the power of dance therapy for sexual violence and domestic abuse survivors, and third place was awarded to Adura Onashile’s Expensive Shit (UK), about a toilet attendant desperate for survival, who manipulates the behaviour of unsuspecting women for the titillation of men watching behind the mirrors. All three award-recipients received a cash prize.
For the first year, and to great success, 16 DAYS 16 FILMS introduced a publicly voted for Audience Award, which was awarded to Charlotte Daniel’s Eyes Down. In the days leading up to the Awards Event, Audience members were able to vote for the film which they felt stood out as a result of its high quality, the strength of storytelling, and impactful resonance.
An independent jury selected the winners from 16 finalist films which were released each day between 25 November and 10 December on 16days16films.com, and also shared by the Kering Foundation’s specialist non-profit organisation partners supporting this campaign: Chayn Italia in Italy, En avant toute(s) in France, Fondo Semillas in Mexico, NNEDV in the U.S, as well as the UK Says No More campaign in the UK.
The jury included an array of individuals from various creative and socio-political backgrounds, including film producer Barbara Broccoli (James Bond); actress, and social justice humanitarian Ashley Judd; social activist and psychotherapist Dr. Leyla Hussein; producer and writer Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor (Blue Story); actress Stacy Martin (Nymphomaniac); actress and producer Julie Gayet (Raw); actress Anna Friel (Marcella); stunt performer and intimacy coordinator Teniece Divya Johnson (Succession); Director Phyllida Lloyd (The Iron Lady); Journalist and author Terri White; Director Sarah Gavron (Rocks); actress Jasmine Trinca (La Dea Fortuna); Writer Abi Morgan (Suffragette); Director and Actress Tamara Yazbek Bernal (After Lucia); journalist Chiara Tronville; Promundo CEO Gary Barker; Kering Foundation Executive Director Céline Bonnaire; and UK Says No More Partnership Manager Sarah D’Angelis.
