“Last year, we had 30 submissions and this year we had 280 submissions from all over the world,” she said.

The festival included a screening of 15 short films, including “The Spirit of Long Beach” a documentary made by 17-year-old filmmakers Brenda Cespedes, of Long Beach, and Erick Urquilla that chronicles the storm’s devastation and community’s resilience.

“At the end of that film, people were crying, it was so emotional for them to see what was going on,” Dodd said.

This year, the festival honored a number of individuals and organizations for their role in the recovery effort after the storm, including Doug O’Grady and the Mohawk Avenue Saint Foundation, Project Pay It Forward, Skudin Surf, Rebuild the Beach, Todd Kaminsky, James Hodge, Long Trunks, Project 11561, the MLK Center, Schnirman, and others.

A portion of the festival’s proceeds go to the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, and 100 percent of what the organization receives will go toward assisting residents still in need of help after Sandy.

“Struggle is where true character is revealed,” said Weintraub, “and the character of our city here in Long Beach can only be defined as compassionate, selfless, supportive and inspiring. Long Beach is a very dear and special place and to be able to shine a light on the great organizations and individuals who helped their fellow neighbors is the least we could do.”