George Stoney, a founding board member of Working Films, dies at age 96.

"What happens when the lights come up and the credits roll? What's the ASK of the audience?" This classic George Stoney question of social justice documentary filmmakers inspired the creation of Working Films in 1999. George was a founding member of our board of directors and we were deeply saddened to learn of his passing on July 12, 2012. Judith Helfland, Working Films co-founder and a protege of George, guest-blogged a beautiful article for PBS.org about her mentor. View the blog here.

Reel Economy

Temperatures in the Washington D.C. area reached record highs in July, but we made things even steamier by bringing six films on the hottest of topics - the economy - to our nation's capital for the Reel Economy convening (July 23-26). The filmmakers of American Winter, Citizen Corp, Escape Fire, Solarize This, We're Not Broke, and Xmas Without China developed their plans for audience engagement and connected with nonprofit organizations, funders, and other allies about partnerships that will assure that these films are enriching our national conversation about the economy and moving us toward a more sustainable and just economic future. To find out more about what happened at the convening and what we've got planned for these films, check out the follow-up blog post.

Bitter Seeds and Who Cares About Kelsey?

While we're busy plugging Bitter Seeds into the U.S. anti-GMO movement, the film is also premiering on TV in India this week. Bitter Seeds is an international award-winning film directed by Micha Peled that explores the controversy over genetically modified (GM) seeds and the impact of India's farming communities. It will be featured on the second season of NDTV Profits' highly acclaimed documentary series Docs+, which showcases powerful documentaries on global issues. This Indian boradcast premiere on NDTV will happen on August 15, 2012. For those of you here in the US who want to host a public screening to fight GMOs, fill out this form.

Working Films developed strategy for Who Cares About Kelsey? the second film from filmmaker Dan Habib. This multimedia project, which features a full length film about New Hampshire teen Kelsey Carroll and mini-films about a diverse cross section of students and schools, will make viewers reconsider the "problem kids" in their own high schools and will spark new conversations about an education revolution that's about empowering -- not overpowering -- our most emotionally and behaviorally challenged youth. We're looking forward to hosting a summit for the film this fall and to work with an array of educators, activists, and organizers who are already using Who Cares About Kelsey? to transform their schools. Read more about the project and our work with Dan here.

MacArthur Award Recipients

Congratulations to all the recent documentary film grantees of the MacArthur Foundation, a supporter of independently produced film and video for more than 30 years. This latest round of 13 grants totaling more than $1.6 million goes to an excellent slate of film and media projects -- and some good filmmaker friends of Working Films. We're proud to be in collaboration with a number of these grantees: Citizen Corp and Solarize This are featured in our Reel Economy residency; American Promise is part of our Reel Education collaborative, and we have worked on early engagement strategies for The Undocumented. Visit our Trainings & Events page for more information about these residencies and collaboratives.

Cucalorus Film Festival

Cucalorus is seeking submissions for their upcoming festival in Wilmington, NC, November 8-11, 2012. The Works-in-Progress Category offers filmmakers at all stages of production an opportunity to showcase their films in a workshop-style setting. Narrative and nonfiction films are eligible to apply. Films focused on social justice are especially encouraged to submit. The workshop is intended to foster dialogue between filmmakers and target audiences, providing critical feedback for moving your project forward. There is no entry cost if you live within biking distance of their headquarters. Submit today!

Working Films in Documentary Magazine

Check out the Summer 2012 issue of Documentary magazine for an article on Working Films!

Watch videos from our Impact series!