Project summary

The International Vegan Film Festival (IVFF) is dedicated to advancing the vegan movement through film and digital media, promoting compassionate living, animal rights, and environmental sustainability. In addition to our annual festival in Toronto, which showcases a diverse range of vegan-themed films, IVFF offers an annual activism workshop that empowers advocates with tools to enhance their advocacy efforts. Our World Tour and virtual screenings bring these films to global audiences year-round, spreading our message to new and diverse communities. We support filmmakers by providing opportunities for them to engage with audiences through interactive Q&A sessions, promoting their work, and offering a platform to elevate their impact within the vegan movement. Through these initiatives, we not only inspire non-vegan audiences but also help strengthen the skills of activists and creators working toward a more compassionate world.

With a minimum project funding of $1,000 USD, we can expand our virtual screenings and collaborate with individual hosts to grow our World Tour program. However, with our funding goal of $10,000 USD, we will be able to fully invest in international and local partnership development, significantly amplifying our reach and impact. Through these initiatives, we not only inspire non-vegan audiences but also strengthen the skills of activists and creators, helping them to drive the movement toward a more compassionate world.

What are this project's goals? How will you achieve them?

The primary goal of IVFF is to use film and storytelling as powerful tools to inspire a measurable increase in plant-based choices and reduce global animal exploitation. We aim to achieve this by expanding our World Tour and virtual screening programs through strategic partnerships, alongside hosting our annual film festival in Toronto. These screenings will deliver impactful, emotionally engaging content that challenges conventional views on animal rights, environmental sustainability, and personal consumption, motivating audiences to embrace plant-based living.

By leveraging our current partnerships with organizations such as Unitarian Universalist Animal Ministry, AVA Summit, and Sanctuary Doc, we have already broadened our reach to non-vegan audiences, particularly in underserved regions like Vietnam, Brazil, and the southern United States, where vegan advocacy is less prominent. With these partnerships, we expect to reach 2,000 people by the end of 2024. To further amplify our impact, we seek to expand partnerships with international organizations like Veganuary, The Humane League, and Vegan Outreach, as well as more local organizations like Vive in Vietnam. These new partnerships will allow us to host additional in-person and virtual screenings in diverse communities, helping us vastly increase engagement with non-vegan audiences.

Funding will enable us to support local organizations with the tools, resources, and training they need to independently organize future screenings, creating a self-sustaining model of advocacy. For example, we plan to cover costs related to promotional outreach, film translations, and staffing for partnership development. This approach empowers local advocates, reducing the need for ongoing IVFF resources while maximizing long-term impact.

With this expansion, we aim to double our reach to 4,000 or more individuals in the near term, with a long-term goal of impacting 10,000 people or more annually by the end of 2027. According to a 2019 survey by Vomad, 49.5% of people who went vegan did so due to exposure to digital media, underscoring the incredible impact of visual storytelling. By embedding our programming into local advocacy ecosystems, IVFF will foster cultural shifts toward veganism. A February 2024 IVFF virtual screening exemplified this impact, with 45% of the audience being non-vegans and 88% expressing intentions to adopt more plant-based choices. Submissions from high-profile creators like Earthling Ed, Ryuji Chua, and Evanna Lynch further showcase IVFF’s ability to curate powerful, impactful content that drives real change.

Furthermore, IVFF will collect and analyze impact data after each screening to assess behavioral shifts in our audience. This includes gathering feedback through surveys to measure changes in attitudes and willingness to adopt more plant-based choices. By demonstrating the tangible effects of these screenings, we aim to highlight the power of film as a tool for social change and inspire future collaborations. This approach not only broadens the reach of our advocacy but also fosters long-term, self-sustaining community screenings, allowing local advocates to continue hosting events independently.

How will this funding be used?

Funding will cover key expenses such as film translations, promotional materials, and staffing for partnership development. It will also support the expansion of World Tour screenings, ensuring that local hosts are equipped with the necessary resources such as A/V equipment to continue running events independently, maximizing long-term impact​​.

Who is on your team? What's your track record on similar projects?

IVFF is led by Executive Director Emma Schwarz, an award-winning filmmaker, nonprofit leader, social media content creator, and dedicated advocate for animal rights and veganism. Emma brings a wealth of experience in nonprofit leadership and animal advocacy, having previously served as Director of Advancement at a large farmed animal sanctuary. There, she successfully led a fundraising team that raised $1.8 million in a single year, while overseeing educational programs, including film screenings, that inspired participants to commit to 105,000 additional plant-based meals, sparing approximately 35,000 animal lives.

Emma’s expertise in using films and educational content to drive impact is a cornerstone of IVFF’s mission. Under her leadership, IVFF has expanded its reach through key partnerships with organizations like the Unitarian Universalist Animal Ministry, The AVA Summit, and Sanctuary Doc, bringing World Tour screenings to new global communities. Emma’s strategic approach to high-impact, cost-effective advocacy—rooted in the principles of Effective Altruism—has allowed IVFF to create cultural shifts toward veganism, even with limited resources.

Emma is also the author of Plant Powered Persuasion, a highly regarded book on effective vegan advocacy. Her work has been featured on platforms such as UnChainedTV and PBS, and she has created content for organizations like Switch4Good and Vegan FTA; including a short campaign video used by Switch4Good to lobby the US Congress to pass the ADD SOY Act. At IVFF, Emma leverages her deep understanding of content creation and audience engagement to deliver impactful programming that inspires non-vegans while empowering vegan advocates with the tools to amplify their advocacy.

In addition to leading IVFF’s core programming, Emma has expanded the festival’s scope by adding two new film categories in 2024: Social Media Advocacy and Intersectional. Recognizing that social media now drives the majority of people’s content consumption, Emma introduced the Social Media Advocacy category to modernize IVFF and promote effective social media advocates whose short-form content has the power to inspire significant change. To attract more non-vegan audiences, she added the Intersectional category, which showcases films exploring the intersection between human rights and animal rights, demonstrating her vision of curating programming that addresses broader social justice issues and achieves impact goals.

Under Emma’s direction, IVFF has consistently delivered impactful programming, including high-profile films and successful international partnerships. A recent screening from the 2024 World Tour demonstrated this impact, with 45% of the audience being non-vegans, and 88% of them reporting feeling inspired to adopt more plant-based choices. By attracting notable figures such as Earthling Ed, Ryuji Chua, and VKind, Emma has helped establish IVFF as a leading platform for mission-driven creatives. Her ability to scale IVFF’s programming and build strategic partnerships has positioned the festival as a powerful force within the vegan movement, driving meaningful, measurable change.

What are the most likely causes and outcomes if this project fails?

Potential challenges include difficulty in securing adequate funding or limited engagement from local partners to scale our World Tour and virtual screenings. However, IVFF has a strong track record of overcoming obstacles by building strategic partnerships and optimizing resources. If these challenges arise, we will adapt by focusing on strengthening existing partnerships, scaling back on lower-priority screenings, and exploring alternative funding streams. While setbacks could limit the immediate expansion of our reach, IVFF remains committed to its long-term goals and will continue working toward increasing our impact and reaching non-vegan audiences globally.

How much money have you raised in the last 12 months, and from where?

Since the beginning of 2024, IVFF has received $21,000 USD in funding from Vegan Grants, Craigslist Charitable Foundation, and The Pollination Project. Additionally, through our programming and individual fundraising efforts, we have raised an additional $10,000 USD. This brings our total funding for the past year to approximately $31,000 USD.