WHAT’S UP?
UP is DaVinci’s premier spotlight brand banner—a dedicated platform engineered to elevate heart-centered, purpose-driven cinema and mobilize audiences from empathy into action.
Every year, the DaVinci International Film Festival carves out a premium, embedded space within our Official Selection to confront heavy, urgent global realities. We believe that true cinematic mastery doesn’t just hold up a mirror to the world’s shadows; it ignites the drive to change them.
Cinema has an unparalleled ability to move us. Unlike any other medium, a masterfully crafted film bypasses intellectual armor and strikes straight at the human heart. It allows us to walk in the shoes of others, feel their struggles, and absorb realities completely foreign to our own. Because cinema possesses this unique power to fundamentally change how we see the world, it serves as the ultimate catalyst to influence culture, challenge systemic apathy, and incite real, lasting change.
Under the UP banner, we leverage this profound cinematic influence by showcasing a selection of both narrative and documentary pictures that refuse to look away from tough, high-stakes scenarios. In the past, we have honored and elevated such vital initiatives via cinema by tackling critical issues including wartime PTSD (She Will Be Loved), homelessness (His Name is Ray), child marriage (Nawi), and sex crimes involving assault and harassment (Don’t Be Late, Myra), among others.
We don’t let the momentum stop when the screen goes dark. By anchoring these powerful films with dynamic keynote addresses and high-level, interactive panel events, we bridge the gap between spectatorship and citizenship.
By spotlighting a select group of exceptional Official Selections each year—or just one—our goal is to get people asking the hard questions, breaking through the illusion of helplessness, and walking out of the theater equipped to truly MAKE A DIFFerence.
Our brand mark tells our story: it begins as a heart—symbolizing deep empathy and the emotional gravity of the human experience. It then dynamically transitions into an upward arrow, forming the “UP” monogram. This is the exact trajectory of our program: transforming passive, heart-led sympathy into upward, purpose-driven advocacy.
