PRESS RELEASE: FIRST+MAIN FILMS ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF THE
2024 BETTER CITIES FILM FESTIVAL
Read about all the winning films.
PRESS RELEASE: BETTER CITIES FILM FESTIVAL EXTENDS CAMPUS MARTIUS PROGRAM TO THREE DAYS, BECOMES AN OFFICIAL DETROIT MONTH OF DESIGN EVENT, AND RELEASES 2024 FILM SCHEDULE.
Read all the exciting updates and news for the 2024 Better Cities Film Festival in the press release.
BETTER CITIES FILM FESTIVAL PROFILED IN THE FREDERICK NEWS-POST
Check out some great coverage and an interview with festival director Josh Paget in the Frederick News-Post.
FIRST+MAIN FILMS ANNOUNCES THE WINNERS OF THE 2023 BETTER CITIES FILM FESTIVAL
Detroit, MI, 23rd Oct., 2023 — Today First+Main Films announced the winning films from the 2023 Better Cities Film Festival. The Grand Prize Best Film and Best Short Film award goes to They Came From All Over. The documentary by Oscar-winning director Rayka Zehtabchi is a love letter to family-run small businesses everywhere, capturing the important role they play within local communities. The Best Feature Film award goes to The Engine Inside. Directed by filmmaker Darcy Wittenburg and narrated by broadcast cycling legend, Phil Liggett, the epic global documentary explores the power of the bicycle to change lives and build a better world. The Hero Award goes to The Place Man, directed by Guillermo Bernal, who also wins the Director Debut Award. The Place Man profiles Fred Kent, founder and icon of the global placemaking movement. The Spirit of the Fest Award goes to Arbitrary Lines: The Free Spirit of Caroline co-produced by author, zoning expert, and YIMBY activist M. Nolan Grey, and directed by Tran Hoang Calvin.
BETTER CITIES FILM FESTIVAL AND NODEHAUS ANNOUNCE GLOBAL PREMIERE OF ARBITRARY LINES A FILM EXPLORING “HOW ZONING BROKE THE AMERICAN CITY AND HOW TO FIX IT,” FEATURING M. NOLAN GRAY
Detroit, MI, 18th September, 2023 — Better Cities Film Festival and Nodehaus announce the global premiere of Arbitrary Lines: The Free Spirit of Caroline at the Better Cities Film Festival on Sunday, Oct. 8 at 5:30 - 6:30 PM at the Community Arts Auditorium, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI.
Arbitrary Lines is a captivating documentary that paints a vivid portrait of Caroline, a small town nestled in the rural landscapes of Upstate New York. The film presents an intriguing narrative about the tension between traditional zoning laws and the town's unique, free-spirited ethos. Viewers are challenged to consider the impact of zoning laws on the fabric of small-town life and to rethink the arbitrary lines that define our built environments.
BETTER CITIES FILM FESTIVAL AND PLACEMAKING X ANNOUNCE
JOINT 10TH ANNIVERSARY EVENT IN
DOWNTOWN DETROIT
Detroit, MI, 4th September, 2023 -- Better Cities Film Festival and Placemaking X announce a special screening of the feature documentary “The Place Man” as part of a joint 10th anniversary celebration to be held at Campus Martius in downtown Detroit, on October 5th, 2023. The event is co-hosted by the Downtown Detroit Partnership.
FIRST+MAIN FILMS ANNOUNCES CALL FOR ENTRIES FOR 2023 BETTER CITIES FILM FESTIVAL
Detroit, MI, December 1, 2021 -- First+Main Films announced today that submissions are open for films to enter the 2023 Better Cities Film Festival. The festival accepts films of any genre and length on the theme of place and placemaking, including stories about revitalizing cities, towns and neighborhoods.
FIRST+MAIN FILMS ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF THE 2022 BETTER CITIES FILM FESTIVAL
Detroit, MI, 21 November, 2022 -- Today First+Main Films announced the winning films from the 2022 Better Cities Film Festival. The Grand Prize Best Feature Film award goes to Raised/Razed, written and directed by filmmaker Lorenzo Dickerson and journalist Jordy Yager, is a documentary about the lasting effects of urban renewal through the lens of Vinegar Hill, an African-American neighborhood in Charlottesville,Virginia and the Hayti neighborhood in Durham, North Carolina. The Grand Prize Best Short Film award goes to Ropes in Brown Hands, a documentary by Alexandra Leah Travis about a small Oklahoma town that’s home to one of the nation’s oldest African-American rodeos
Better Cities Film Festival Releases Program Book for 2022
Detroit, MI, 10 October, 2022 -- Today the program book for the 2022 Better Cities Film Festival was released. Review the program at this link.
ANNUAL BETTER CITIES FILM FESTIVAL SCREENS IN DETROIT OCTOBER 20-23rd, 2022
Detroit, MI, 20 September, 2022 -- First+Main Films announced the official selections and program schedule for the 2022 Better Cities Film Festival, screening October 20-23rd in Detroit, Michigan. Better Cities Film Festival curates and exhibits the best films from around the world, all focused on the theme of making cities and towns better places to live, work and play.
WINNERS OF THE UN-HABITAT BETTER CITIES FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCED
Katowice, Poland 1 July, 2022 -- First+Main Films announced today the winning films from the UN-Habitat Better Cities Film Festival at the Eleventh Session of the World Urban Forum in Katowice, Poland.
The Grand Prize Best Feature Film award went to If You Have, a documentary from Oscar®-winning director Ben Proudfoot uncovering the inspiring untold story of UNICEF and its response to the global pandemic. The Grand Prize Best Short Film award went to The Rural Studio, a documentary about a community-oriented, design-built program dedicated to improving overlooked rural communities in Alabama, USA, with good design.
FIRST+MAIN FILMS LAUNCHES UN-HABITAT BETTER CITIES FILM FESTIVAL AT THE 11th WORLD URBAN FORUM
Katowice, Poland 22 June, 2022 -- First+Main Films, in partnership with the United Nations agency focused on sustainable urbanization, UN-Habitat, kicked off the UNHabitat Better Cities Film Festival today in Katowice, Poland. Films will screen daily at the Urban Cinema inside the exposition hall of the Eleventh Session of the World Urban Forum (WUF11) from 26-30 June 2022.
UN-Habitat Better Cities Film Festival Announcement
Nairobi, Kenya 16 February, 2022 -- The UN-Habitat Better Cities Film Festival returns to the Eleventh World Urban Forum in Katowice, Poland, 26-30 June 2022. Organised in partnership with First+Main Films, the festival will celebrate life in cities around the world by showcasing the power of storytelling to inspire and empower cities and communities.
FIRST+MAIN FILMS ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF THE 2021 BETTER CITIES FILM FESTIVAL
Detroit, MI 31 October, 2021 -- Today First+Main Films announced the winning films from the 2021 Better Cities Film Festival. The Grand Prize Best Feature Film award goes to The Place That Makes Us, directed by Karla Murthy, an inspiring portrait of the people of Youngstown, Ohio, who have chosen to rebuild instead of abandon their hometown. The Grand Prize Best Short Film award goes to The Rural Studio, a documentary by Jeff Durkin about the transformative work of architecture teachers and students in a small Alabama town.
DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO THE 2021 FILM FESTIVAL
FIRST+MAIN FILMS ANNOUNCES THE WINNING FILMS FROM THE 2020 BETTER CITIES FILM FESTIVAL
Buffalo, NY 25 November, 2020 -- Today First+Main Films announced the winning films for the 2020 Better Cities Film Festival. The Grand Prize was awarded to Segregated by Design, an epic animated documentary revealing the dark history of unconstitutional US housing segregation based on Richard Rothstein’s seminal book, "The Color of Law.” The Best Feature Film was awarded to The Great Disconnect, a compelling documentary exploring the causes and solutions to today’s “age of loneliness,” including urban design. The Best Short Film was awarded to Cycling Toward a Better Future, an inspiring story about the Pikala bicycle initiative in Marrakesh, Morocco.
Film on Syrian refugee scoops top award at 10th World Urban Forum ceremony
Abu Dhabi, UAE 18 February, 2020 --‘Soufra’, a documentary about the world’s most unlikely entrepreneur living in a Syrian refugee camp took the Grand Prize Best Feature Film at the UN-Habitat Better Cities Festival held at the Tenth Session of World Urban Forum.
The Grand Prize Best Short Film award went to Briançon, a documentary about an historic French town that tackles issues of preservation of urban life and architectural heritage.
First+Main Films Announces Winners of the UN-Habitat Better Cities Film Festival at World Urban Forum in Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi, UAE 12 February, 2020 --Today First+Main Films announced the winning films from the UN-Habitat Better Cities Film Festival at the Tenth Session of the World Urban Forum in Abu Dhabi. The Grand Prize Best Feature Film award goes to Soufra, a documentary film about the world’s most unlikely entrepreneur living in a Syrian refugee camp, and the Grand Prize Best Short Film award goes to Briançon, a documentary about an historic French town that tackles issues of preservation of urban life and architectural heritage.