From a pool of over 60 films, we narrowed the finalists down to eight powerful stories told by committed filmmakers, all attending our Films for Good workshop this weekend, 3 – 25 July, in Islington, London. We designed this workshop with the Channel 4 BRITDOC team to create effective strategic community and audience engagement campaigns for social issue documentaries accepted into the program. We’ve already developed some ideas for each film’s campaign with a suggested range of potential partners – including leading NGOs as well as some corporate brand partners.…
Whew, just back from Washington DC and the Good Pitch @ Silverdocs, where it was hot hot hot – both inside the Performing Arts Center with an amazing lineup of films and responses from funders, NGOs, and strategists, and outside, where the temp hovered around 99. Jess Search, of C4 BRITDOC, set up a time lapse camera to capture the day: If you missed out on the pitches, you can catch a play by play glimpse on Twitter and Facebook. Also, check out these recaps from the Silverdocs Blog and…
The Media That Matters Film Festival showcases inspirational short films from young independent filmmakers. This is the tenth year that Media That Matters has brought together a collection of 12 short films – each under 12 minutes – aimed at engaging diverse audiences and inspiring action. Working Films co-founder and executive director, Robert West, will be hosting the Media That Matters UK premiere event with UK staff member Sarah Mosses. The jury-selected collection of films look at a broad range of human rights and social justice issues from the experience…
How can filmmakers whose movies touch on similar issues collaborate? How can they not!?! I’m preparing to spend next week in the Bay Area with some amazing and dedicated filmmakers and audience engagement coordinators. We’ll be figuring out where the overlaps in their campaigns lie and how they can cover more ground together than they could alone. The films chosen for this innovative retreat are Cape Wind, Deep Down, Dirty Business, Gas Land, Split Estate, Sun Come Up, and When Two Worlds Collide. These projects are all focusing on the…
Huffington Post: Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)was clear in his campaign ad last week: “Complete the danged fence,” he told an Arizona sheriff, who appeared with him in the immigration-themed ad. The fence that McCain was referring to is actually a series of barriers along the U.S.-Mexican border that were approved by congress in 2006. It’s also the subject of Rory Kennedy’s short film “The Fence (La Barda).” Kennedy’s film, shot well before Arizona’s new immigration law or McCain’s new ad, calls into question the effectiveness and the unintended consequences of…
This week the Obama administration approved our nation’s first offshore wind farm to be built in Nantucket Sound, off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. When completed, the 130 turbines will be able to produce enough electricity to meet 75 percent of the demand to the nearby islands. What an exciting moment in the environmental and sustainable energy movement! Though on the opposing side, there are local Cape Cod residents who aren’t very happy about seeing turbines in their distant horizon. Enter Cape Wind: The Fight for the Future of…
“Good work!” to our colleagues at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival The Festival kicks off this Thursday, April 8, with a stellar and rousing line up. We’re connected to a number of films and filmmakers at the fest; join us in celebrating their success! On Friday, April 9th at 4pm, at the Carolina Theatre’s historic Fletcher Hall is the Center for Investigative Reporting’s Dirty Business. Dirty Business demystifies “clean coal” and explores the extent to which increased energy efficiency and wind, solar and thermal power might make “clean coal”…
Judith Helfand, our co-founder, is getting her due honors all this week – a testament to her passion and commitment and downright brilliance. Honors start at the San Francisco Women’s Film Festival this Wednesday, April 7th, 2010. The night will open with a tribute to Judith featuring A Healthy Baby Girl, Ek Velt: At the End of the World, and excerpts from Blue Vinyl followed by a Q&A. On Thursday, April 8th at noon, Judith will be teaching a master class where she will share storytelling strategies that lead to…
Missed last week’s invigorating Story Leads to Action at the 92YTribeca that we co-hosted with Chicken & Egg Pictures? Fear not, filmmakers Elizabeth Mandel and Beth Davenport have agreed to share their lessons learned from the evening for your benefit: Three years after filming the reunion of a Congolese girl and her mother, separated by war in Congo, Rose & Nangabire (working title) is almost complete. The work-in-progress screening last Thursday was an exciting opportunity to share our work outside the edit room. With a focus on audience engagement, it…
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