André Stark

 Senior Executive Producer
Synergy Media Partner

PASSION:

The non-profit Children’s Hospitals International Film Festival (CHIFF) initiative was created by Andre Stark and Duncan Putney as a way to bring amazing entertaining short films from around the world to young patients in children’s hospitals.

 

IMPACT:

When Boston’s Andre Stark (Original Concept & Development Associates) gets a wonderful idea into his head to do good for his local community and world community as well, then there’s no stopping him. The idea for a new kind of non-profit children’s film festival was the brainchild of friends and co-workers Andre Stark and Duncan Putney, and they decided to bring their idea to reality as one of their personal “film-lanthropy” projects. The very first CHIFF event premiered at Boston Children’s Hospital in 2017 in association with their Seacrest Studio. After a successful BCH premiere, Andre has been hard at work to grow the initiative. As an advisory board member of the non-profit Flickers, Andre has been instrumental in growing the program beyond Boston’s Children’s Hospital to over a dozen major children’s hospitals in eleven states and Canada. Thanks to Andre, later this year, even more hospitals are being added to this annual program, including St Jude’s, Bay State Children’s in Springfield and others.

Andre’s efforts even got a tweet from US Surgeon General Jerome M. Adams, MD. “Recently learned about Children’s Hospitals International Film Festival. They bring inspiring short films directly to hospital rooms of young patients who then vote on and pick the winning films. Putting smiles on children’s faces does wonders for healing.”

Andre, a cancer survivor who has spent some time in hospitals recently, talked with doctors and nurses who see the need for such an innovative program to improve the quality of life for their young patients.