The Greenwich International Film Festival (or GIFF) is a non-profit organization that celebrates the visual arts in Greenwich, CT, with an annual film festival in June and supporting events throughout the year. The Festival, located in downtown Greenwich, features film screenings, premieres, events and parties showcasing filmmakers, panel discussions, and an award ceremony. The Festival focuses on "socially conscious" films, acting in partnership with nonprofits. The four-day Festival features 60+ domestic and international film premieres and screenings educational panels and workshops, The inaugural Festival took place from June 4–7, 2015, and multiple events were hosted prior to that date, beginning with a March 2, 2014 launch party covering the 86th Academy Awards. In addition to the annual Festival, GIFF hosts year-round screenings of socially conscious films. History Before the Inaugural Festival The Greenwich International Film Festival was first envisioned by Wendy Stapleton Reyes, Carina Crain and Colleen deVeer, three friends and Greenwich locals involved in the area's non-profit industry. Planning for the festival began in early 2013, as according to Reyes, the founders "wanted about a two-and-a-half year cushion going in to the inaugural festival." The Festival's first official event was an Oscar-viewing launch party in March 2014, which was followed by the June 2014 hometown premiere screening of Lucky Them in Stamford, Connecticut, hometown of the film's producer and co-writer Emily Wachtel. On October 22, 2014, GIFF hosted a screening of The Good Lie, in collaboration with and benefitting the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, a drama film on the subject of the Lost Boys of Sudan, orphaned during the Second Sudanese Civil War. Inaugural Festival- 2015 The inaugural Greenwich International Film Festival took place June 4 to 7, 2015. The Festival's charitable and socially conscious mission led it to donate a portion of proceeds to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, helping to support the OneminutesJr campaign, which equips young filmmakers with the resources to create one-minute short films, and showcases their work. Over 7,500 celebrities, filmmakers, journalists, financial executives, and movie lovers attended the Festival which featured 31 domestic and international films, educational panels that were free to the public, a Children's Acting Workshop, Q&A's, parties, and evening events. Harry Belafonte and Mia Farrow were honored as the first-ever Changemakers in Film at the Changemaker Honoree Gala on June 6, 2015. The event was held at L’Escale restaurant in Greenwich. Kathie Lee Gifford and Regis Philbin presented the awards