It's A Wrap!

Thank you to all the remarkable panelists, filmmakers and attendees who spent Saturday at “Envision: Addressing Global Issues through Documentaries.” We could not be more thrilled with the response, conversations and creative connections that were made by participants who came together to explore how to achieve universal education that is accessible and of high quality.

We will be reporting on the panels and outcomes in the coming days, but if you want to stay involved, please join our Envision list at envisionfilm.org. We'll be posting photos and videos this week, so that those who could not attend can still benefit from the conversation. In the interim, links to a couple pieces that were posted from the event here and here.

On behalf of the IFP and the United Nations Department of Public Information, thank you for your participation and support!

Roger Ebert on the Two Envision Centerpiece Films

Envision, presented by IFP and the UN, has announced its program for 2010.

Through this jointly produced event, IFP and the UN seek to combine film presentations with substantive, live-audience (real and virtual) discussions on pressing global issues. The UN's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) serve as the focal point for presentations, screenings, social networking, case studies and panel discussions.

The Spotlight Focus for Envision in 2010 will be exploring creative and scalable solutions to our global education crisis, specifically focusing on the UN's Millennium Development Goal of achieving universal primary education.

The event will bring together dozens of leaders from the international filmmaking community with prominent representatives from the UN, as well as civil society organizations, entrepreneurs, activists, journalists, economists, public policy makers and NGOs to address global issues through the international shared language of filmed documentaries.

The two films shown during the program, Jennifer Arnold's A SMALL ACT and Davis Guggenheim's WAITING FOR SUPERMAN, were the subject of a great essay by Roger Ebert:

"Sometimes two films set up an uncanny resonance with one another. I saw two documentaries back to back. One filled me with hope and the other washed me in despair. They were both about the education of primary school children."