Justice Film Festival Unveils 2024 Program & Closing Night Film

The 12th annual Justice Film Festival will take place on the campus of FIT in New York City February 21-24, 2024 with a diverse line up of feature and short films that shine a light on social justice. The 1984 classic Beat Street opens the festival with an all-star panel that includes MC "Special K" and Melle Mel, lead vocalist and songwriter of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.

Academy Award nominees for best documentary screening in the festival include Bobi Wine: The People's President from filmmakers Christopher Sharp and Moses Bwayo with nominees for best short documentary film Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó, and The ABC's of Book Banning among the more than 40 films that make up the program.

Closing the program on February 24th, the two-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine, is 20 Days in Mariupol, Mstyslav Chernov's Academy Award nominated film about the war in Ukraine. The film will screen as part of the closing night program billed as "A Night For Ukraine", which also features three short films centered around the invasion of Ukraine, including the world premiere of documentary short INDOMITABLE, directed by Sonia Lowman and narrated executive produced by Sienna Miller.

"We're thrilled to have the premiere of INDOMITABLE take place at such an important festival alongside such a considered and meaningful program of films highlighting the continued struggle of the Ukrainian people," says Lowman.

Musician Ben Harper created an original score for INDOMITABLE and will take part in a Q+A with Lowman post screening led by Academy Award nominated producer and screenwriter Scott Z. Burns (An Inconvenient Truth, The Bourne Ultimatum).

"We couldn't be more excited about this year's program," said Andy Peterson, founder and creative director of Justice Film Festival. "And we are most proud that more than half of our filmmakers this year are women and more than one-third identify as BIPOC/AAPI. As we continue to strive to create space for diverse voices from underserved communities, we are honored to lift up the next generation of justice storytellers."

In addition to the program at FIT, Justice Film Festival will host "Care in Common" an evening of films in partnership with Caring Across, an all ages movement to transform the way we care. The selection of films, which will screen at DCTV's Firehouse Cinema on Thursday February 22, will celebrate families, caregivers, disabled people, and older adults who want a better way to live, work, and age with dignity. MSNBC's Richard Lui will emcee a panel discussion with filmmakers.

Tickets are available on Justice Film Festival's website along with a full listing of films, labs, special programs and showtimes: www.justicefilmfest.com.