Fundraising for documentary films is never easy. One source filmmakers often overlook are local and statewide funders and arts councils in particular. For our colleagues in North Carolina, here’s a great opportunity. The North Carolina Arts Council offers grants of $10,000 to NC film/video artists through its fellowship program to support the creative development of North Carolina artists and to generate the creation of new work. If you receive a fellowship you may use the grant to: Set aside time to work Pursue projects that further artistic development and support…
Matthew Nisbet discusses the growing influence of documentary film and the various approaches of audience engagement campaigns in his post Recent Research on Impacts of Documentary Film on ScienceBlogs. He offers a preview into the forthcoming issue of a special issue of the journal Mass Communication & Society that he co-edited with American University colleague Patricia Aufderheide. One of the three films discussed includes Working Films’ very own Blue Vinyl audience engagement campaign, where Nisbet and Aufderheide writes: A very different approach was used by Judith Helfand and Dan Gold…
Working Films is proud to announce the films and filmmakers that have been selected for our Real Girls, Reel Change workshop. Real Girls, Reel Change is an innovative new platform that will nurture the work of filmmakers, non-profit organizations, and funders that are focused on supporting the physical, emotional, and social well being of girls and young women. We understand that real impact takes time and strategic use of many types of resources, and we’ve developed Real Girls, Reel Change in order to explore the idea that it takes more…
We are always excited to hear about the development of filmmakers’ audience engagement plans and to see how ideas and energy from residencies have transformed into film campaigns. I recently received an update from Dawn Valadez with Going on 13 that I thought I’d share. From Tweety Bird to Bow Wow, double dutch to chat rooms, Daddy’s girls to first deceptions, watch as Ariana, Isha, Rosie, and Esme let go of childhood and fumble — or sprint — toward an uncertain future. This is puberty and for each of these…
Last month, Kristin and I attended the kickoff for the Community Engagement Through Film course at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Our own co-founder, Judith Helfand, is the resident filmmaker teaching the course this semester along with Gregg Mitman of The Nelson Institute’s Center for Culture, History and the Environment. This course is built entirely on Working Films’ M.O. – How can the movie be in service of the movement? There are eight films that the students are focusing on, and they are appropriately linked up with community partners who work…
Working Films is excited to continue our collaboration with the Good Pitch. In North America, the Good Pitch is a partnership between the Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation and the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program (DFP), generously supported by the Fledgling Fund, Chicken & Egg Pictures, Tides Foundation and anonymous donors. From nearly 200 applications, eight filmmaking teams have been selected to pitch their films and outreach campaigns to an invited audience, in order to amplify the impact of their social-issue documentary projects. A unique feature of the program is an…
The Good Pitch is returning to the UK on September 7th and 8th. It is hosted by Amnesty International at their East London auditorium and is held in association with One World Media. Eight extraordinary projects have been selected to pitch on September 8th with the following filmmakers: Antony Butts (After the Apocalypse), Lesley Katon (A Very Dangerous Man), Dan Edelstyn (How to Re-Establish a Vodka Empire), Hannan Majid & Richard York (Mass e Bhat), Rosa Rogers (Casablanca Calling), Mat Whitecross (Moving to Mars), Morgan Matthews (Seventeen) and Jerry Rothwell…
The Cucalorus Film Festival in Wilmington, NC announces that they are accepting submissions for the Works-in-Progress program in the annual film festival. The Works-in-Progress Category offers filmmakers at all stages of production an opportunity to showcase their films in a workshop-style setting. Films focused on social issues and justice are especially encouraged to apply. The workshop is intended to foster dialogue between filmmakers and target audiences, thereby providing critical feedback for final editing decisions. This will be an invaluable opportunity for those hoping to eventually screen their finished film in…
Working Films will guide a select group of grantees from the Fledgling Fund and Chicken & Egg Pictures as they create and refine audience engagement plans for their non-fiction media and film projects. Linking the documentaries to organizations committed to progressive social change will be a key component of the residency. We would like to welcome the following filmmakers and their projects to this residency. Ali Codina Monica and David Beth Davenport Rose and Nangabire Charlotte Glynn Rachel Is Mai Iskander Garbage Dreams Olivia Klaus Sin by Silence Alexandra Lescaze…
Thanks to generous support from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, Working Films is revising and expanding New Faces: Latinos in North Carolina, a multi-media curriculum. This resource for educators models a popular education approach to learning, incorporating independent film clips into lesson plans aimed at 8th-12th grade students, with the goal of combating stereotypes and misinformation about Latinos in North Carolina. The curriculum’s design is also informed by an overarching goal of economic justice for all North Carolinians. The curriculum was originally released in 2007, and implemented in a broader…
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