Reel Festivals is a group of people who believe that working in small-scale, manageable projects can have larger impact and create sustainable opportunities for people in need.
Aims of Reel Festivals:
- To spread awareness of areas in conflict beyond the headlines.
- To empower cultural figures and encourage their development.
- To encourage engagement with the arts and international issues.
- To encourage dialog between communities.
To achieve these aims we work through specialized festivals, dealing with specific areas in conflict in an in-depth manner and using as many different arts and educational forms as possible.
The first Reel Festivals event was Reel Afghanstan, which was coordinated by Education Through Art, a joint project between Edinburgh University Settlement, Afghan Schools Trust and Firefly International.
To download a selection of the press coverage for Reel Afghanistan 2008 please use the link below. This document is in the universal PDF format.
Reel Afghanistan Press Coverage
The festivals are run as non-profit events, one of the central aims is to fundraise for small-scale charities in areas in conflict. Reel Festivals is an Edinburgh University Settlement project.
Reel Iraq
This year Reel Festivals is proud to present Reel Iraq, a festival of Iraqi Music, Cinema and Art to be held in Edinburgh in May, 2009.
Aims of the Festival:
- To spread awareness of Iraq behind the headlines.
- To empower Iraqi cultural figures and encourage their development.
- To encourage engagement of the local Iraqi and Middle Eastern community with the arts.
- To encourage dialogue between the people of Scotland and people of Iraq and within these communities in Scotland.
Plan for the festival:
This festival will again span the art forms, encompassing Iraqi Cinema, Music, Visual Arts, and Writing. The Festival will take place in May 2009, with the films screening from 14th- 24th May. The festival will be held mainly in Edinburgh and surrounding areas, followed by a film season in Marseille and with dates in other UK cities.