Academy Award-Nominated Film ‘Ferdinand’ to Be Screened at United Nations Headquarters in Celebration of Human Rights Day

The Department of Public Information — in collaboration with the Permanent Mission of Brazil to the United Nations and the Consulate General of Brazil in New York — will host a screening of the Academy Award-nominated animated film Ferdinand to mark Human Rights Day and the seventieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Taking place on Wednesday, 5 December, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:45 p.m., in the Economic and Social Council Chamber, the event will feature remarks by Alison Smale, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications; Mauro Vieira, Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations; and Carlos Saldanha, Director, Producer and Animator at Blue Sky Studios.  Kimberly Mann, Chief of the United Nations Education Outreach Section, will moderate a discussion with Mr. Saldanha following the screening.

Produced by the creators of Ice Age and Rio, Ferdinand tells the story of a giant bull in Spain, who was pulled from his perfect life after being mistaken for a dangerous beast.  Ferdinand refuses to fight and rallies his misfit friends to help him return home.  Inspired by the children’s book The Story of Ferdinand, this heart-warming film was nominated for an Academy Award in 2018.

The book, written in 1936 by Munro Leaf, has inspired readers since it was first published with messages of non-violence and pacifism.  According to Penguin Random House, the book’s publisher, Adolf Hitler ordered the book be burned in Nazi Germany, and it was banned in Spain under the Franco regime.

The lessons the film offers are timeless, encouraging youth to be true to themselves; stand up for their beliefs and those who are different than themselves; and promote peaceful and inclusive societies, in line with Sustainable Development Goal 16.

Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10 December.

For more information on the event, please contact Brenden Varma, Public Information Officer, United Nations, at tel.: +1 212 963 7238, or email:  varmab@un.org.