ACT Human Rights Film Festival received generous support from City of Fort Collins’ Cultural Development & Programming and Tourism Accounts (Fort Fund) to underwrite ACT’s cultural programming endeavors over the next year. This award denotes the fourth consecutive year Fort Fund has helped underwrite the annual film festival produced at Colorado State University.
Inaugurated in 2016, ACT Human Rights Film Festival’s primary endeavor is a nine-day film festival that occurs each April and showcases recent, critically-acclaimed films that engage audiences at the intersection of art and social justice. The festival hosts filmmakers from around the world to participate in panels and talkbacks. Throughout the festival ACT partners with local nonprofit organizations to help create pathways for audiences to engage in collective action. In early 2019, ACT launched year-round film screenings.
Fort Collins’ City Council approved the Fort Fund grant to award $11,853 to support ACT’s festival and year-round programming in fiscal year 2020 (ending 07/31/20).
“Fort Fund’s generous investments in artistic and cultural programs truly demonstrate the City’s support for Fort Collins’ vibrant creative sector,” said Beth Seymour, managing director of the ACT Human Rights Film Festival. “Fort Fund dollars ensure arts organizations have sustainable operating support, can take creative risks, and are more accessible for all. ACT is tremendously grateful to have Fort Fund’s partnership for the fourth year in a row.”
Per the City’s website, “Fort Fund is funded by an allocation of the lodging tax revenues. The objective of Fort Fund is to provide funds to foster, encourage, and promote 1) cultural development and programming, and 2) economic and tourism development. The overarching goal for Fort Fund is to serve as a catalyst in making Fort Collins a cultural center and destination.”
“As ACT matures and grows, we are seeing people from as far away as Lincoln, Nebraska, and Colorado Springs travel to Fort Collins to attend our festival,” Seymour said. “Beyond the cost of ACT tickets, every out-of-town person who attends ACT, is dining, shopping, staying, and spending locally. Plus, our local audience members often dine out and support local restaurants and businesses during the festival or prior to year-round screenings. ACT’s programs boost tourism and support our local economy. Fort Fund helps reinvest in this cycle to keep the arts and creative sector thriving.”
ACT Human Rights Film Festival is a program of Colorado State University’s Department of Communication Studies. It is the only human rights-themed film festival in Colorado.