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    At a time when physical, religious, racial, cultural, and economic borders divide the population of our planet, efforts to bridge those borders should be appreciated. In that spirit, Cinema Without Borders presents Bridging the Borders Award,  to the films that are most successful in bridging and connecting the people of our world closer together.

    Cinema Without Borders (CWB) announces 360 MEDIA as sponsor for Bridging The Borders Award

    Burbank, Ca — June 21, 2024 — At Cinema Without Borders, we are thrilled to announce 360 MEDIA as the new sponsor of our Bridging The Borders Award.

    Bridging The Borders Award will be offered at the Palm Springs ShortFest International Film Festival, The Palm Springs International Film Festival, The Polish Film Festival – LA, The Hungarian Film Festival- LA, Scandinavian Film Festival-LA, Australia’s Montage Film Festival, UK’s Ramsgate International Film & TV Festival and Germany’s LUCAS – International Festival for Young Film Lovers.

    “The idea behind the Award has been to connect people across the globe through the power of film, which has made it a great success during its fourteen years of highlighting films in several local and international festivals,” said Bijan Tehrani, Editor in Chief of Cinema Without Borders. “Receiving heartwarming words from great filmmakers and winners of the Bridging The Borders Award—such as the late Andrzej Wajda, the legendary Polish filmmaker Ari Folman who directed Waltz with Bashir, the Finnish director Klaus Haro, and many others—has encouraged us to look for a brighter, more inclusive future, and that is why we are enthusiastic about our partnership with 360 MEDIA.”

    “Year after year, filmmakers from around the globe capture through their lenses stories that are deeply rooted in the ideals of justice, human rights, and everyday empathy for our fellow neighbors, both near and far. The Bridging The Borders Award celebrates this form of authentic cinema where viewers find solidarity in the universality of human experience, and, in turn, are moved to meaningful action to address some of the greatest global struggles of our time, ” said Keely Badger, the Founder and Chief Marketing Officer of 360 MEDIA Consulting

    The winner of Bridging the Borders Award at each festival receives a series of media recognition spotlights across print and digital platforms.

     KEELY BADGER, Keely Badger is the Founder and Chief Marketing Officer of 360 MEDIA Consulting; a woman-owned, woman-led digital marketing agency for storytellers, changemakers, and brands working on the frontlines of social impact and innovation. Her high-performance multimedia campaigns have attracted influential clients such as The Sundance Institute, The Redford Center, Human Rights Watch, KPJR Films, and over 50 award-winning indie films.
    Developing a love for the transformative potential of documentary film to bridge communities and awaken critical consciousness, Keely has worked in the public and private sector over the past 15 years, using social impact cinema as a tool to inspire audiences to meaningful action. With a background in helping produce, brand and market films by providing strategic audience engagement models, impactful multimedia campaigns and community partnership-building, Keely has successfully helped independent filmmakers galvanize social change in both grassroots and international arenas.
    360 MEDIA is proud to serve as a presenting sponsor of the 2024 Bridging The Borders Award.

    Films nominated or considered for an OSCAR or other major awards after winning Bridging The Borders Award:

    Ave Maria from Palestine; Directed by Basil Khalil. winner of Bridging The Borders Award at 2015 Palm Springs ShortFest later in 2016 was nominated for the Live Action Short Film Oscar.

    Walesa. Man of Hope, directed by legendary Andrzej Wajda, won Bridging The Borders Award in 2014 at the Palm Springs International Film Festival and later was announced as the Polish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards.

    Waltz with Bashir, directed by Ari Folman, won Bridging The Borders Award in 2008 Palm Springs International Film Festival and then later was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar and won Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film, an NSFC Award for Best Film, a César Award for Best Foreign Film and an IDA Award for Feature Documentary and many other awards

    Terraferma an Italian drama directed by Emanuele Crialese won Bridging the Borders Award at 2012 Palm Springs International Film Festival and was premiered at the 68th Venice International Film Festival. Terraferma was selected as the Italian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 84th Academy Awards, and won several awards at major international film festivals.

    The Band’s Visit  won Bridging the Borders Award in 2008. This film was Israel’s original Foreign Language Film submission for the 80th Academy Awards, but was rejected by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences because it contained over 50% English dialogue. It has won Un Certain Regard – Jury Coup de Coeur – Cannes Film Festival  and Feature Film Award – Montreal Film Festival.

    French from France, directed by Josza Anjembe won 2016 l Bridging the Borders Award 2016 in Palm Springs ShortFest and now by winning other awards in 2017, will be considered for an Oscar in Live Action Short section.

    A Broken House – Winner of Bridging The Borders Award at 2021 Palm Springs SHORTFEST – Nominated for an Academy Award in the Documentary Short Subject
    A Syrian architect and artist stuck in the U.S. on a single-entry visa eases his homesickness by sculpting life-like renditions of the home he left behind.
    Director: Jimmy Goldblum

    A letter from Darryl Macdonald,  president of Palm Springs Film Society and International Festivals about Bridging the Borders Award

    Dear Bijan,
    I’m looking forward greatly to working with you and with Cinema Without Borders again this year to present the HP Bridging the Borders Award at the upcoming Palm Springs International Film Festival.
    Over the course of the six years the HP Award has been presented at the Festival, it has produced a remarkable track record, encompassing films that have won a total of 79 awards at major international festivals and esteemed national or international film competitions (including five of those six films having been selected as their countries’ official submissions to the Academy Awards for the Best Foreign Language Film).
    The prestige of the award internationally has been growing in a way very much in keeping with that track record, as each subsequent year has produced a winner of this award that has gone on to receive broad-based acclaim and recognition from other events following its US premiere at the Palm Springs event.
    I know I don’t have to tell you what a difference receiving this award has meant to its recipients; we’ve enjoyed six years of ecstatic responses from the filmmakers who have been honored to be presented with it. I do hope
    we can look forward once again to making the presentation of the HP Bridging the Borders Award an integral part of our Awards Ceremony and Reception at the upcoming Palm Springs International Film Festival, January 1 – 10, 2016, and meanwhile hope all else is well with you and our friends at both Cinema Without Borders and Hewlett Packard, who have so generously supported the Award over the course of these past six years.
    Yours truly,
    Darryl Macdonald
    Executive Director
    Palm Springs International Film Festival

    Andrzej Wajda, legendary Polish filmmaker and Academy Awards winner letter to Cinema Without Borders after winning Bridging The Borders Award

    “Dear Jury of Bridging The Borders Award 2014, Dear Audience, The Award bestowed on my film WAŁĘSA:  MAN OF HOPE touched me deeply, not only because it is my Film, but more so because of Lech Wałęsa, about whom I present on the screen. His accomplishment will be remembered not only in the history of Poland but also for its impact worldwide.  The fact that this was done by a Polish worker is even more remarkable. I am really sorry that I cannot be with you in person to receive this distinguished Award, but my current health condition precludes such a long trip. Please accept my sincere thanks for that Award. The WAŁĘSA film was created with the hope of bringing closer together people who love freedom.  Andrzej Wajda—Warsaw, 01-11-2014″

     A Selective History of Bridging The Borders Award