The Human Family has been approved to receive a $20,000 Grants for Arts Projects award from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to support the 2023 North Dakota Human Rights Film Festival. It is the second NEA grant for The Human Family. The project is among 1,125 projects across America totaling more than $28.8 million that were selected that were announced by the NEA as part of its first round of fiscal year 2023 grants.

Presented by The Human Family, The North Dakota Human Rights Film and Arts Festival (NDHRFF) showcases worldwide independent narrative, documentary, and short films featuring social justice, civil rights, or human rights topics. Film screenings are paired with community conversations, artists’ workshops, and presentations that bring hosted filmmakers and local community leaders actively engaged in social change to discuss their work with audiences. The festival is North Dakota’s only statewide film festival, and free and open to the public.

NDHRFF centers conversations around and amplifies the voices of those who have been systemically underrepresented so that residents of North Dakota gain a deeper understanding of the historical underpinnings of urgent contemporary human rights, civil rights, and social justice issues.

“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support arts projects in communities nationwide,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “Projects such as this one with The Human Family strengthen arts and cultural ecosystems, provide equitable opportunities for arts participation and practice, and contribute to the health of our communities and our economy.”

“We’re proud that The Human Family and our annual North Dakota Human Rights Film and Arts Festival have been selected by the NEA for support. Our mission is to celebrate and amplify the courageous voices of filmmakers and artists bringing awareness to human rights, civil rights, or social justice issues,” said The Human Family Executive Director Sean Coffman. “We believe that engagement with difficult conversations through film and art cultivates learning and compassion, amplifies the voice of underrepresented artists, and promotes diversity. This festival, in particular, encourages community change through empathy, understanding, and perspective-shifting. We couldn’t do this without the support of the NEA and all of our funders and sponsors.”

The 2023 North Dakota Human Rights Film Festival opens on November 6, 2023. All screenings, artist’s workshops, and community discussions are free and open to the public.

For more information on other projects included in the Arts Endowment grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news. For more information about the North Dakota Human Rights Film Festival, visit www.ndhrff.org.