FilmAid’s 21st Annual Power of Film Benefit
Empire joined Internews once again to produce FilmAid’s Power of Film Awards at the Standard Hotel in NYC. Set under a semi open-air sky on a crisp Autumn night, the event was a perfect mix of purpose and pleasure. For the first time since the pandemic, FilmAid supporters gathered to celebrate its mission to harness the power of film to educate, inspire and empower refugees and other vulnerable communities around the world.
The cocktail event and program included moving remarks by FilmAid’s founder Caroline Baron and new Director, Gita Saedi Kiely, who painted her vision for tomorrow.
“We are now a global organization with projects happening in communities worldwide, with partnership and support from industry leaders like The Oscars (AMPAS) and Variety, and with life changing work that impacts hundreds of thousands of people every year.”
Tim Blake Nelson presented the Student Award to Nhial Gatriek Deng, a 2020 graduate of the FilmAid training program. Mark Ruffalo shared a heartfelt pre-recorded tribute honoring Ian Urbina with the prestigious Christopher Dickey Award for his groundbreaking work on The Outlaw Ocean Project.
Kati Marton then spoke regarding her late husband’s Richard C. Holbrooke Humanitarian Award before introducing Mariam Wardak. Mariam, received the award on behalf of the awardee, Sahraa Karimi, who was unable to attend in person. She shared an incredible story of life as a woman under Taliban ruled Afghanistan, and how Sahraa was a devoted advocate of women and cinema until her final moments boarding an evacuation flight to Europe as the Taliban took over.
Jeanne Bourgault, Internews President and CEO, closed the evening with immense gratitude and pride of the team at Internews for having joined forces with FilmAid. Their incredible work in training young people in all aspects of storytelling and communications, empowers the next generation to advocate for its own rights to effect positive change in the world.
Empire is honored to support the vital work of FilmAid and has been serving not-for-profit organizations for nearly three decades. To learn more please visit https://www.filmaid.org
Guests received their first taste of technological innovation at registration, where they were welcomed by name on a reactive LED screen installation covering the full width of the entry wall. A large lunch café was created with a décor scheme that incorporated custom-built, ceiling-high steel LED frames draped with foliage to create smaller, intimate restaurant-style spaces that displayed both technology and nature.
A series of breakout sessions presented content targeted to attendees’ varied interests, while imagery displayed throughout the venue showcased real-life applications of how products designed to empower developers help to unleash the power of data and reimagine possibilities that will improve our world.
Every element of Microsoft Connect(); from registration, breakfast and keynote, to lunch and evening cocktails, were custom-designed to communicate exacting brand messaging and to deliver a high-touch guest experience to this important audience. The keynote and breakout sessions were livestreamed through an onsite studio built for this purpose and content was watched online by millions around the world.
Empire is proud to collaborate with Microsoft on this annual, top-tier business communication event.
To view excerpts of Connect(); 2017, please visit https://www.microsoft.com/connectevent
