Rural Cinema is a training institute and community engagement program aimed at supporting rural leaders across the United States in using films as a resource in their work. The program supports participants in holding live community events that engage their communities and advance their goals over the course of one year. This year’s program has a special focus on serving individuals and organizations working for environmental justice and protection in areas directly impacted by polluting industries or transitioning from being economically fueled by natural resource extraction to adopting other more…
Working Films launched the Docs In Action Film Fund in 2018 to support the production of short documentaries that address critical issues of social and environmental justice. This year’s call for proposals sought nonfiction films that tell a fuller story of immigration. We looked for films that reveal the harms perpetuated by immigration enforcement practices that extend beyond the crisis at the border, as well as films that expand popular understanding of immigrants and their varied experiences. We are excited to announce that we have awarded a total of $60,000…
We are excited to announce the 2019 Cucalorus Works in Progress Lab, a week long residency that supports the audience engagement and distribution strategies of social issue documentaries being made by Black filmmakers. This year’s featured films include: Black Barbie: A Documentary, directed by Lagueria Davis charts the rise of the most iconic girl toy brand of all time through the eyes of the filmmaker’s aunt, Beulah Mae Mitchell who spent 45 years working at Mattel. Commuted, directed by Nailah Jefferson tells the story of Danielle Metz, after being sentenced…
Working Films launched the Docs In Action Film Fund in early 2018 to support the production of short documentaries that address critical issues of social and environmental justice. Our inaugural call for applications sought non-fiction films illuminating “Just Recovery”, defined as the long-term cultural changes, planning, partnerships, investment, and infrastructure needed to build intersectional models and alternatives for communities at risk and impacted by catastrophic climate disasters. We are thrilled to announce that the inaugural Docs In Action Film Fund recipients are Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi for We Still Here (working title)…
What will you do when the lights come up? One of our earliest taglines and our charge from day one is now ubiquitous in the field of documentary for change. And over the last eighteen years, we’ve remained committed to answering this question in ways that are meaningful for documentary film audiences and that serve the broader movements for social and environmental justice. We’ve changed a lot over the years. We’ve taken big risks, we’ve failed forward, and we’ve followed our hearts. We have been privileged to work with many…
We’re thrilled to announce five extraordinary new members who have joined the ranks of Working Films’ Board of Directors! CATY BORUM CHATOO Caty Borum Chattoo is Director of the Center for Media & Social Impact (CMSI), an innovation lab and research center at American University that creates, showcases, and studies media designed for social change; and Executive in Residence at the American University School of Communication in Washington, D.C. She is an award-winning communication strategist and documentary film/TV producer working at the intersection of social-change communication, research, documentary, and entertainment…
7 documentaries selected to screen at Facing Race 2016 Race Forward has teamed up with Working Films to present Race Flicks, the film track of Facing Race: A National Conference being held in Atlanta, GA from November 10-12, 2016. This year’s Race Flicks program will focus on creating impact with film. And the selected films were choosen in large part because of the way they have been or could be used strategically by activists, organizers, and nonprofits to advance their work for racial justice. Dozens of filmmakers applied for the…
The good news: fracking was banned in New York State! The reality: more than 137 natural gas pipelines, compressor stations, frack waste, and storage facilities are proposed, under construction or in operation there. The Sane Energy Project had been keeping tabs on it all. The YOU ARE HERE map let’s residents see the gas and oil network across the state, zoom in on each facility, and find out who’s organizing to stop it. They’ve also recently teamed up with the FracTracker Alliance to begin uploading personal stories about residents’ experiences while living…
Working Films is seeking documentary media for two upcoming initiatives. Read about each below and submit your film(s) or multi-media projects by the deadlines listed to be considered: Just Transition Media Project: Just Transition is the long term work of eliminating fossil fuel dependence and building sustainable communities in which economic and social systems are transformed to be equitable and humane. We are seeking documentary media projects that illustrate the principles of just transition and/or that highlight community based efforts that put these principles into action. We are particularly interested…
Working Films is seeking submissions for a new film and organizing initiative that will showcase stories of just transition and climate resilience. Individuals and community-based organizations across the United States are working to build sustainable local economies, eliminate dependence on dirty energy, and create resilient communities in the face of climate change and economic inequality. Powerful stories are needed to amplify successes within the just transition and climate resilience movements, demonstrate a clear vision for a sustainable future, and unite people from various backgrounds and geographies to learn from each…
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