As we gear up for the Content + Intent Documentary Institute, Working Films Residency at MASS MoCA for 2009 I have been in touch with alumni of the residency to see what they are up to and find out about ways the residency has influenced their audience engagement efforts. I was very excited when I received an email from ’06 Mass MoCA alum Paula Consolini sharing with me a new educational website that she has built using clips from her film Breaking the Mold.

When Paula was at the MASS MoCA residency we brainstormed with her about how to freshen up her material and help it make a real educational impact by using an online distribution platform. Now she has made that happen.The site, www.breakingthemold.org, is billed as a study in workplace democracy. (more…)

As we begin taking applications for the 2009 Content + Intent Documentary Institute, Working Films’ Residency at MASS MoCA we wanted to give you a sense of what the experience was like for other filmmakers. In March of 2008 Sean Flynn joined 10 other documentarians for our 5 day workshop in the beautiful Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. The following are reflections on the residency that Sean so graciously agreed to share with us. If Sean’s experience sparks your interest in the Institute click here for more info and download the application.

“There are a handful of experiences I look back to as turning points in my career as a filmmaker. The five days I spent at the Content + Intent Documentary Institute at Mass MoCA was certainly one of them. Like so many other documentary filmmakers, I was originally drawn to this art form through a combination of my passion for storytelling, my love for capturing beautiful images, and most importantly, my desire to do something with meaningful social impact. But also, like so many other documentary filmmakers, the process of actually making a film, promoting it and simply getting it seen had become so all-consuming that I began to lose sight of that last critical part of the equation. Social impact!

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One of our newest projects is Pray the Devil Back to Hell, a film by Abigail Disney and Gini Reticker. This award winning film chronicles the remarkable story of the courageous Liberian women who came together across faith to end a bloody civil war and bring peace to their shattered country. We are so excited to be part of the efforts to engage audiences in the issues of women’s power and the potential of nonviolent action, and we are thrilled that the film is receiving stellar reviews.

Pray the Devil Back to Hell is opening in New York City today, with additional openings in select cities. In collaboration with Fork Films and Auburn Media, we have coordinated special screening events and we hope you can make it out to one of them. The following events will take place at the Cinema Village Theater with extraordinary organizations hosting post-screening Q&A’s:

11/7 FRIDAY 8PM
Hosted by the Andrus Family Fund with The Advocates for Human Rights

11/8 SATURDAY 4PM
Hosted by African Refuge

11/8 SATURDAY 6PM
Hosted by the American Society for Muslim Advancement, the Center for Women’s Multifaith Education at Auburn Theological Seminary, the Sister Fund, the Women’s Ministry of the National Council of the Churches, and United Methodist Women.

11/8 SATURDAY 8PM
Hosted by Ms. Foundation for Women with the Global Fund for Women

11/9 SUNDAY 8PM
Hosted by the US National Committee for UNIFEM, Metro New York Chapter

You can spread the word to your friends about the film and special events through email, web badges, and flyers offered on the official website.