Calendar – Past Event

The American Museum of Natural History's Margaret Mead Film Festival is presented by the Museum's Public Programs Division in the Department of Education. Held annually each fall, the Mead Festival was founded in honor of pioneering anthropologist Margaret Mead, one of the first anthropologists to recognize the significance of film for fieldwork. The Mead Festival screens documentaries, experimental films, animation, and hybrid works that increase our understanding of the complexity and diversity of the peoples and cultures that populate our planet.

In 2010, the Margaret Mead Film Festival implemented the Margaret Mead Filmmaker Award. The Award recognizes documentary filmmakers who embody the spirit, energy, and innovation demonstrated by Margaret Mead in her research, fieldwork, films, and writings. The award is given to a filmmaker whose feature documentary offers a new perspective on a culture or community remote from the majority of our audiences' experience as well as displays artistic excellence and originality in storytelling technique. Films selected for the Margaret Mead Film Festival that are U.S., North American, or World Premieres are eligible for the Award. The award winner is selected by a jury of industry professionals. The 2011 jury was comprised of Darren Aronofsky (director), Liz Garbus (documentarian), Karen Cooper (director of Film Forum, NY), and Stanley Nelson (documentarian). This award has a cash prize.

Please note that submissions will not be returned.

DEADLINES

Early Deadline: April 2, 2012
Final Deadline: May 16, 2012
Extended Final Deadline: June 15, 2012

Entries must be postmarked by the above dates.

More entry information here.