6:00 pm  Welcome
Joana Vicente, Executive Director, IFP

Kiyo Akasaka, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information

6:15 pm  Keynote Address
Harry Belafonte, Goodwill Ambassador, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

6:30pm Screening - The Sound of Mumbai: A Musical

 A Film by Sarah McCarthy (UK, India 2010, 65 minutes)

For one emotional night, a group of children living in a slum in Mumbai, India, get a chance to experience a different world as they perform The Sound of Music with a classical orchestra, fostering hopes that it could change their lives. As described by the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival, "In telling this story, McCarthy remains mindful of the gaps that lie between dreams and reality, rich and poor. The film never glosses over the difficulty of closing those gaps, but it joyfully expresses the effort of attempting.” The Sound of Mumbai: A Musical is a presentation of HBO Documentary Films.

7:30pm  Performance -  PS 32 Chorus, A DreamYard Partner School  

7:45pm  Opening Night Cocktail Reception

A presentation by Hugh Evans, Co-Founder, The Global Poverty Project

Based on leading research, this simple yet ground-breaking presentation clearly articulates the facts of extreme poverty and demonstrates that by making simple changes, everyone can be part of the solution. The presentation aims to deeply communicate the challenges and opportunities of extreme poverty and to work as a platform to inspire and facilitate individuals to become actively involved in eradicating poverty.

Joana Vicente, Executive Director, IFP
Juan Carlos Brandt, Chief, Advocacy and Special Events, UN

A Film by Phil Grabsky (UK 2011, 90 minutes)

Follows the charismatic Mir (The Boy Who Plays on the Buddhas of Bamiyan) from a childish eight to a fully grown eighteen-year-old. Over those ten years, we see a journey into early adulthood in one of the toughest places on earth; a journey that mirrors the current and vitally important story of Afghanistan.

In an ever more media dependent world, documentaries are seen as a powerful, vivid and efficient means of communicating complex issues to people in a direct way. But the “issue” is not the film. What are the challenges that filmmakers face in finding and crafting their stories to both reach audiences and hopefully achieve impact in the real world. From international broadcasters to independent filmmakers we’ll hear from those on the front lines today turning the camera on hunger and poverty - and their reasons for doing so.

Moderator: Patricia Finneran, Producer, Creative Partnerships, Documentary Film Program, SUNDANCE INSTITUTE

Panelists: 

Steven Cantor, Director, Tent City

Susan Farkas, Chief of the United Nations Radio and TV Service

Phil Grabsky, Director, The Boy Mir: 10 Years in Afghanistan

Mette Hoffmann Meyer, Head of Documetaries and Co-productions, DR TV, and a Commissioning Editor of the international eight-part series "Why Poverty?"

Matthew O'Neill, Producer/Director, Baghdad ER, and currently developing a new Haiti-set documentary with director Jon Alpert

George McGovern

Goodwill Ambassador, World Food Programme (WFP)

The 1996 World Food Summit defined food security as existing “when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life.” All too often uncertainty, fear and helplessness govern the lives of billions of people caught up in crises around the world, critically destroying their access to food. This is seen time and again when war erupts, natural disaster strikes, economies plunge or  food prices spike.

When women and children flee conflict, refugees cross borders and communities stand over their villages destroyed by floods and earthquakes, these people can not know, with any certainty where their next meal will come from. Food stocks are gone, shops are closed and the food that remains is too expensive.

This discussion gives voice to some of the stories of people caught in these situations, as well as focus on how to extend immediate assistance and the more difficult question of how to fight the long-term battle on hunger.  

Moderator: Jim Clancy, CNN Anchor

Panelists:

Emma Clippinger, Executive Director, Gardens for Health International

Remileku Cole, Director of Agriculture and Food Security, Africare

Glenn Denning, Professor of Professional Practice at SIPA, and Director of the Center for Globalization and Sustainable Development at the Earth Institute, Columbia University.

Stephanie Hanson, One Acre Fund, Director of Policy and Outreach

Bettina Luescher, Chief Spokesperson, North America, World Food Programme

Jilly Stephens, Executive Director, City Harvest

A Film by Lucy Walker (Brazil/UK 2010, 90 minutes)

Academy Award® nominated Waste Land follows world-renowned artist Vik Muniz, who journeys from his home in Brooklyn to his native Brazil and the world's largest garbage dump located on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. Muniz photographs an eclectic band of “catadores”—self-designated pickers of recyclable materials. His collaboration with these inspiring characters as they recreate photographic images of themselves out of garbage reveals both the dignity and despair of the catadores as they begin to re-imagine their lives.

Women are the majority of those born into poverty around the world. Tens of millions miss out on education and, globally, women are more likely to be jobless and bear the worst setbacks of economic crises. But whether in Asia, Europe, Africa or the Americas, women are breaking poverty and hunger cycles, not just for themselves but for their families and communities too. While women have shattered some glass ceilings, much more needs to be done.  More women need to be in decision-making roles with better access to resources and education because when it comes to hunger, women are not only the main victims, they are the main solution.

This discussion will focus on how women help to halt hunger and poverty.

Moderator: Donald Lee, Chief, Social Perspective on Development Branch, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs

Panelists:

Rebeca Grynspan, Under-Secretary General and Associate Administrator, United Nations Development Programme

Kennedy Odede, President, Shining Hope for Communities

Lynne Patterson, Co-Founder and Director, Pro Mujer

Lina Srivastava, Board of Directors, Global Grassroots