Film Festival Introduces 'Milos Stehlik Global Impact Award'

Facets: Facets’ 36th annual Chicago International Children’s Film Festival is dedicated to the memory of Milos Stehlik, founder and executive director of Facets, who passed away this July. Milos had a dream that film, the most powerful communications tool ever invented, has the power to change the world. Since 1975, Milos worked tirelessly to fulfill this dream in many forms: through the exhibition of powerful, award-winning films from around the world, through educational programs that encourage students to critically examine the meaning of the moving image and how it impacts their daily life, through innovative streaming services such as Facets Edge and Facets Kids that bring these films to audiences worldwide, and finally, through the creation of Facets’ Chicago International Children’s Film Festival, the largest and longest-running children’s film festival in the world.

To honor Milos’s lifework and to continue his legacy for generations to come, Facets is also announcing the creation of the annual “Milos Stehlik Global Impact Award” at the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival. The award will be given to a filmmaker or film project from the Festival’s Official Selection that is committed to building bridges, overcoming divisions, and promoting diversity and global understanding through film.

The inaugural “Milos Stehlik Global Impact Award” will be selected by special committee and presented at the Closing Night Ceremony for the 36th Chicago International Children’s Film Festival on November 10, 2019 at Facets.

The dedication and award are just two of a number of recognitions that are being created to honor Milos’s lifework. The prestigious Telluride Film Festival has named an annual “Milos Stehlik Scholarship,” given to a young film student “who embodies Milos’s passion and humanist heart.” The 31st Polish Film Festival in America (November 9-24, 2019) is also dedicating this year’s festival to Milos.

There has never been a more important moment in history to celebrate Milos’s vision and stress the importance of empathy-driven, global films, especially for young audiences. By properly wielding the power of film, it is possible to, in Milos’s words, “open minds and souls, giving every individual the opportunity to see themselves as they are, and as what they can be, embracing their potential to save our planet and ourselves.”