Acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Lee Satterfield will travel to Middleburg, Virginia, October 17-20, 2024, where she will deliver remarks and engage with industry leaders to elevate film as a diplomatic tool and a driver of the creative economy at the Middleburg Film Festival.
While there, Acting Under Secretary Satterfield will present the Middleburg Film Festival's inaugural Film Diplomacy award to British Ambassador to the United States Karen Pierce, in recognition of her longstanding commitment to the film industry and the power of film to both increase our understanding of the world and bolster the global creative economy.
In addition, Acting Under Secretary Satterfield will host a delegation of filmmakers from Nigeria and Kenya as part of the American Film Showcase, the Department's flagship film diplomacy program that connects international filmmakers with leaders from the American film industry. The delegation will headline 'A Conversation with African Filmmakers' on Sunday, October 20, which will focus on the importance of storytelling, the growth of the film industry in Africa, and what the film industry means for local, regional, and global creative economies.
Building on President Biden's statement at the 2022 U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit that the United States and African nations would work as equal partners to support shared values and interests, the United States' cultural diplomacy efforts - including film diplomacy - demonstrate continued action to work with governments, the private sector, and NGOs to expand access to education, economic opportunity and equity, especially through the creative economy, and inclusion.
In addition to the American Film Showcase, the Department engages with creative professionals in film and television through its Global Media Makers initiative as well as its newest exchange program, the Africa Creative TV initiative (ACTV). Working closely with the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts, ACTV is a new professional development and network building program that engages African TV writers, producers, and other film crew professionals in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa.
