NEW YORK — The 12th Edition of the SR Socially Relevant™ Film Festival in-person section closed on March 16 at the Tenri Cultural Institute. The festival had opened at the National Arts Club on March 11 and ran at Columbia University’s Forum, MRHS and Cinema Village.
Each year, the festival covers social issues, totaling 45 films this year. The official selection is available on its website. The main themes are Black History, BIPOC films, Aging and Disability, Women, LGBTQI+, and more.
The Festival’s YouTube Channel posts live Meet the Filmmakers interviews and presents the awards and awarded films.
The festival’s Honor Awardee is Karren Karagulian of “Anora,” who received the Cinematic Achievement Honor Award of SRFF 2025. Karagulian thanked the festival, spoke of the importance of this type of film festival, and encouraged independent filmmakers in their efforts to tell socially relevant stories.
The film “Calmer Waters,” directed by Annie Leclair, garnered the Vanya Exerjian Empowering Women Award, which is an award given by founder Nora Armani in memory of her cousin, who was the victim of a hate crime against a woman.
The Best Narrative Feature Award went to “In the Name of Fire,” directed by Abhilash Sharma, and Sonalli Sharmisstha won Best Actress for the same film. The Best Actor winner for the feature category was Patrick Séminor in “A Bout de Flouse” by Hassan Hamza. That film also won the Best Original Script Award.
