HIGH NOTE
HUMAN RIGHTS CINEMA
High Note Human Rights Cinema is where film and human rights converge at global scale — a permanent platform recognizing filmmakers whose work advances human dignity through the power of storytelling.
In official alignment with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN Human Rights), High Note Human Rights Cinema brings together visionary directors, producers, artists, and institutions to elevate films that do more than entertain — works that challenge injustice, illuminate untold stories, and shape the cultural narrative around the most urgent human rights issues of our time.
Rather than compete with the global festival circuit, High Note Human Rights Cinema elevates it — drawing from the world's top 100 festivals to identify the most significant works in short, documentary, and feature film. Each year, a High Note Global Prize is awarded in each category by UN Human Rights and the High Note Global Creative Board — establishing the highest honor in cinema for human rights storytelling.
This is not simply about celebrating film. It is about harnessing its influence to advance a more just and equitable world.
THE HIGH NOTE
HUMAN RIGHTS HUB
Launching January 21–30, 2027 in Boulder, Colorado, the High Note Human Rights Hub is the physical stage for High Note Human Rights Cinema — a ten-day programmed environment in the heart of Boulder where filmmakers, diplomats, press, and policy leaders converge around the year's most consequential stories.
Each day is anchored to a defining human rights theme: justice and accountability, displacement and migration, gender and equality, digital rights, and climate and human cost. Mornings open with UN-led panels translating story into policy. Afternoons feature filmmaker conversations, private screenings, and press briefings. Evenings conclude with invitation-only receptions and salon discussions that gather the global film community under one roof.
The Hub culminates on the final day with the presentation of the High Note Global Film Prizes — the moment the world's most important human rights films receive the highest institutional honor in cinema.
This is not a festival. It is the global stage where film meets policy, culture meets consequence, and storytelling is placed at the center of the human rights agenda.
