LOS ANGELES (February 10, 2021) – The art of storytelling is alive and reimagined in this year’s #SIMA2021 winners.

To meet some of the lives behind the global fight for equality and social justice, and to witness the pressing issues they represent first-hand, look no further than the official winners of the 9th Annual International Social Impact Media Awards (SIMA 2021). 

SIMA, the non-profit impact media agency that celebrates, curates and distributes documentaries and creative media projects that advance positive social change, announced their 2021 festival winners this morning. Chosen from 40 finalists spanning 20 countries, the SIMA 2021 winners represent the future of filmmaking as we know it: honest, raw, diverse, creative, and deeply personal stories that transform our world.

From an unprecedented exploration into the machine-learning algorithms perpetuating society’s existing racial, class, and gender biases in Best Director, Best Sound Design, and Transparency Jury Prize winner, CODED BIAS by Shalini Kantayya; to following a group of activists risking their lives to confront Russian leader Ramzan Kadyrov and his government-directed campaign to detain, torture and execute LGBTQ Chechens in Best Feature Documentary, Winner WELCOME TO CHECHNYA by David France, this year’s SIMA 2021 winners unapologetically invite viewers to examine the state of our contemporary world and their unique place—and potential—to change it. 

“We could not be more proud and in awe of the content creators, filmmakers, social commentators and creative truth-seekers we get to support this year. Thank you for your unwavering dedication to move and enlighten our world.”

— Daniela Kon, SIMA Founder & Executive Director

With heart-pounding sequences and mesmerizing cinematography, SIMA 2021 winners take viewers on a visual journey around the world, bringing audiences face-to-face with some of the world’s most eye-opening, unique and urgent perspectives. Inequality, race, gender, migration, spirituality, conservation, human rights, art, power, and the pursuit of a more just and equitable future, portrait a world living on the both the brink of war and ecstatic transformation with one overarching theme: hope. 

The SIMA 2021 Winners are eligible for entry into SIMA’s global community screening series, SIMA X, and online education platform, SIMA Classroom, which reaches over 75,000 students around the globe. 

SIMA’s Sponsors are committed to the collaborative effort of honoring the most thought-provoking documentary films of our time. The 9th Annual SIMA Awards are powered by VICE Impact, Human Sustainability Project, CTLST, The Documentary Organization of Canada (DOC), WITNESS and SEED & SPARK.