Before a film launches, we often times host a strategy meeting, or summit, to pull together a group of organizations that will set the direction for the film’s campaign and point us to the upcoming opportunities where the film can help build the movement.

A couple weeks ago  we hosted a strategy summit for No Impact Man – a highly anticipated book and documentary film about Colin Beavan’s family’s year long experiment in sustainability. We met with leading organizations such as 1Sky, 350, Alliance for Climate Protection, Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, Center for a New American Dream, Climate Counts, Food & Water Watch, ioby, and the National Council of Churches (Eco-Justice Program) to discuss how the No Impact Project can support the movements to fight climate change, make our lives more sustainable, and curb mindless consumption.

For many people the unique thing about the No Impact project might be that an urban family successfully found a higher quality of life by eliminating cars, electricity, and non-local food from their lives for a year. But another key takeaway from their experience is that making change isn’t just about individual action. It’s about the personal connection with political action, or engaged citizenship.

Engaged citizenship allows us to transform our lives on an individual level and local level, and simultaneously connect to the national and international politics that are needed to solve this complex problem of global warming. Who better to advocate for safe bike lanes than bicycle commuters themselves?

The No Impact Man film and book show this natural connection and ultimately the No Impact Project, in partnership with cutting edge organizations, will support you in making your next steps into engaged citizenship.

Cinereach, a not-for-profit dedicated to supporting and producing artful films that depict underrepresented perspectives, cross cultural boundaries, and promote dialogue, is currently seeking applicants for its annual Reach Film Fellowship.

The prestigious six-month program supports young filmmakers with grants, resources, and industry mentors who help guide their short films through all stages of production.

The application deadline is July 15, 2009. Applications and guidelines can be found at http://www.reachfilmfellowship.com.

Four winning applicants will be awarded $5,000 and be mentored by an established filmmaker. Fellows also receive production support from sponsors, workshops, career coaching, and industry exposure. Industry judges will award an additional $5,000 to the most outstanding film of the four, which will also screen at Cinereach’s annual Reach Out event in the spring.

The fellowship is open to filmmakers who completed film studies programs in 2008 or 2009. This year, self-taught filmmakers may also apply, but are advised to discuss their eligibility with Cinereach staff before submitting an application. Applicants must also be able to reside in the New York Tri-State area from August through April of 2009/2010 to meet the Fellowship requirements.

Cinereach also has a large granting program for emerging and established filmmakers. There are two letter of inquiry deadlines annually for this program, June 1 and December 1. Grants range from $5,000 – $50,000 for features and documentary films in all stages of production (www.cinereach.org/grants).

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We are excited that our former Ithaca Park Scholar, Jeremy Levine, is heading to SILVERDOCS this week for the World Premiere of a film that he has been working tirelessly on with his filmmaking partner Landon Van Soest.

Good Fortune explores how massive, international efforts to alleviate poverty in Africa may be undermining the very communities they aim to benefit. Through intimate portraits of two Kenyans battling to save their homes from large-scale development organizations, the film presents a unique opportunity to experience foreign aid through the people it is intended to benefit.

In the rural countryside, Jackson’s farm is being flooded by an American investor who hopes to alleviate poverty by creating a multi-million dollar rice farm. Across the country in Nairobi, Silva’s home and business in Africa’s largest squatter community are being demolished as part of a United Nations slum-upgrading project.

Interweaving meditative portraits of its characters, Good Fortune examines the real-world impact of international aid. With a broad scope and intimate style, the film portrays gripping stories of human perseverance and suggests that the answers for Africa lie in the resilience of its people.

Following the two screenings, there will be Q&A’s with the filmmakers and organizations who are working in unique ways to address international aid that benefits the communities that they aim to support.

The film has already received kudos, as it was the recipient of the 2007 Sundance Documentary Fund, winner of the Fledgling Fund Award for Socially Conscious Documentaries at the 2007 IFP Market, and the recipient of a Fulbright Grant in the Creative and Performing Arts.

The New York premiere will be the following week at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival, a leading venue for distinguished fiction, documentary and animated films and videos with a distinctive human rights theme. This screening is presented in association with the Fledgling Fund and IFP and will also include a post-screening Q&A.