Last fall, PUMA.Creative and Channel 4 and BRITDOC Foundation launched a set of six international programmes and awards aimed at supporting talented filmmakers, who create their works to spread the word about environmental issues, global conflict and social injustice. At the Durban International Film Festival (July 21–31), on July 25, five finalists for 2011 PUMA.Creative Impact Award were announced—they were selected from over 70 entries sent over starting January based on the budget of the film, social impact it has made around the globe, influencing politics and businessmen who can foster positive change, and a range of other facts.

The five shortlisted feature films will be now judged by a panel of jury, which includes Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan, Morgan Spurlock (Academy Award-nominated Director of ‘Super Size Me’), Orlando Bagwell (Director of the JustFilms initiative at the Ford Foundation), Emmanuel Jal (musician and activist), and Thandie Newton (BAFTA award-winning actress). The experts will choose the best entry later this year—the winning film will be named at the PUMA.Creative and Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation Gala in London on October 11. The best recognition for the creative teams behind such pieces is an opportunity to promote the works further for a better social impact—€50,000 award to be handed to the production team of the winning film will be used for this very purpose.

Here are the finalists, vying for the ultimate prize this year:

The finalists for 2011 are:

—The End of The Line (2009), directed by Rupert Murray and produced by Claire Lewis and George Duffield—about the devastation of the oceans caused by overfishing.

— Burma VJ (2008), directed by Anders Østergaard and produced by Lise Lense-MøllerArmed—filmed by small handycams by undercover Video Journalists in Burma and covering the September 2007 uprisings against the military regime in the country.

—The Age of Stupid (2009), directed by Franny Armstrong and produced by Lizzie Gillett—set in a post-apocalyptic 2055, calling audience to take action now, until it’s too late.

— The Reckoning: The Battle for the International Criminal Court (2009), directed by Pamela Yates and produced by Paco de Onís A David & Goliath—about “bringing perpetrators of crimes against humanity to justice.”

—Trouble The Water (2008), directed and produced by Tia Lessin & Carl Deal—a film about people who survived in Hurricane Katrina, through the prism of the disaster explores issues of race, class, and the relationship of the U.S. government to the country’s citizens.

“The five documentaries—all critically acclaimed works of independent filmmaking—reflect some of the most urgent issues of our times, and all have been used strategically by the filmmakers to create change on a corporate, a political and a social level,” said Beadie Finzi, Founding Director of the Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation. “Reading the applications and understanding both the breadth and the depth of impact that each of these finalists has had was inspiring, to say the least.”

At the festival, PUMA.Creative and Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation will also hand several PUMA.Creative Catalyst Awards and PUMA.Creative Mobility Awards to talented filmmakers and launch a 5-day workshop as part of its PUMA.Creative Catalyst Programme.

“Film is a unique and compelling medium for exploring who we are; a tool for reflection as well as a catalyst for shifting perceptions and even affecting social change,” said Mark Coetzee, Program Director PUMAVision and Chief Curator, PUMA.Creative. “The award is the highlight of our documentary film platform with Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation, and a strategic part of PUMAVision, our contribution to creating a better world for generations to come.”