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As part of the community events of Tales from Planet Earth, Troy Gardens and MACSAC participated as community partners in the screening event of What’s On Your Plate? along with filmmakers Catherine Gund and Sadie Rain Hope-Gund. What’s On Your Plate? follows Sadie and Safiyah as they talk to each other, food activists, farmers, new friends, storekeepers, their families, and the viewer, with a mission to understand the story behind the food we eat. This film traveled to Madison a year ago as part of the build up to this festival to host a special rough cut screening for youth at the Sherman Middle School in order for the filmmakers to gain strategic feedback on how to make the final cut of the film appeal to youth - an essential target audience. At the beginning of 2009, we hosted a strategy summit with the filmmakers and non-profit organizations focused on increasing access to healthy and affordable food; reducing obesity; and connecting local farmers to schools and families; in order to develop the audience engagement campaign by hosting. For us, it was really awesome to be able to see all the strategy and plans come to fruition and play out in front of us. It has felt quite gratifying after having participated in the work behind the scenes to then experience the film event with the audience of young people and their families. Check out the video above, featuring an ode to dirt by youth gardeners, to get a sense of how the adventures of What's On Your Plate? were connected to the adventures here in Madison.

As part of the community events of Tales from Planet Earth, Troy Gardens and MACSAC participated as community partners in the screening event of What’s On Your Plate? along with filmmakers Catherine Gund and Sadie Rain Hope-Gund. What’s On Your Plate? follows Sadie and Safiyah as they talk to each other, food activists, farmers, new friends, storekeepers, their families, and the viewer, with a mission to understand the story behind the food we eat. This film traveled to Madison a year ago as part of the build up to this festival to host a special rough cut screening for youth at the Sherman Middle School in order for the filmmakers to gain strategic feedback on how to make the final cut of the film appeal to youth - an essential target audience. At the beginning of 2009, we hosted a strategy summit with the filmmakers and non-profit organizations focused on increasing access to healthy and affordable food; reducing obesity; and connecting local farmers to schools and families; in order to develop the audience engagement campaign by hosting. For us, it was really awesome to be able to see all the strategy and plans come to fruition and play out in front of us. It has felt quite gratifying after having participated in the work behind the scenes to then experience the film event with the audience of young people and their families. Check out the video above, featuring an ode to dirt by youth gardeners, to get a sense of how the adventures of What's On Your Plate? were connected to the adventures here in Madison.

As part of the Community Engagement through Film class, students Jessica Halpern and Ryan Josephson worked with community partner Mario Garcia Sierra of Centro Hispano, matching the issues and stories of the organization’s community – such as immigration, labor, and education – to the issues and stories in several films by Alex Rivera. Together they hosted a special pre-screening event for Tales from Planet Earth at Centro Hispano to show Alex Rivera’s Papapapá along with a series of shorts made by youth members of Centro Hispano. The event included good food, music, and conversation. Alex’s films are quirky at times; though they explore issues in a very serious way. A thread throughout much of his work includes the juxtaposition of the free movement of products to the restricted movement of people –– deepening the immigration discussion layer by layer. As part of the discussion following the screening Alex explained, “We don’t want to just be workers. We want to have full participation.” You can hear more from Alex, the student organizers, and Mario in the video above.

Note from Working Films: You can follow the festival live on Twitter: #TfPE09. We'll also be posting updates on our blog along the way. by Gwen Evans, Nelson Institute The Tales from Planet Earth film festival this weekend, Nov. 6-8, will screen some 50 environmental films from around the world that explore how stories told through film can influence our understanding of, and relationships to, nature. But the festival, organized by the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, is more than just hunkering down in a dark theater to watch spectacular films: Organizers hope the films will inspire audiences to action on behalf of environmental justice and the diversity of life. And local action inspired by the festival is already under way, even though a single curtain has yet to be raised or light dimmed. UW-Madison students in the class Community Engagement Through Film have developed partnerships with area nonprofit organizations that work on issues raised in the festival's films. The class is being taught by Gregg Mitman, festival director and interim director of the Nelson Institute; and Judith Helfand, filmmaker, activist, educator and artist in residence at UW-Madison this semester. "There was so much enthusiasm from the last festival. I wanted to take that energy and turn it into activism," says Mitman. "Environmental film festivals on college campuses are growing, and I wanted to create a model for others to follow. This class is a true expression of the Wisconsin Idea." The students' class projects address, on a local level, issues such as hunger, homelessness, food sources, nutrition, emergency preparedness, animal rehabilitation and community-based conservation. The class has already established some exciting partnerships with impressive outcomes: •    Several local grocery stores have agreed to stock products made by Porchlight, a local organization that hires and trains homeless people to work in its kitchens. Increasing sales of Porchlight's products, which are mostly bottled goods such as jams and pickled veggies, baked goods and salads, will spur more hiring and training. The Wisconsin Union is also now buying some of these items for its food service operations, as are some campus sororities and the local Great Dane Pub and Brewing Company. In addition, Marling Home Works, a building supply company, is helping to organize a fundraiser to help Porchlight buy a commercial-scale convection oven to increase its productivity. •    Madison's Whole Foods Market has agreed to purchase food shares from the Madison Area Community Supported Agriculture Coalition to donate to food pantries. Food pantries rarely have fresh vegetables to offer their clients, so this effort will ensure a steady supply on their shelves. Whole Foods will also donate fresh fruits through the winter months to help fill gaps. The Bradshaw-Knight Foundation has also purchased shares along with individual donors. •    Interstate Books4School has agreed to donate a large number of children's books to the food pantries. •    Madison Gas & Electric Co. is donating $500 to several community groups to purchase green energy credits. These will help the groups pay their utility bills and also offset carbon emissions generated by the film festival. •    Marling Home Works is donating materials to build a children's garden kitchen at Troy Community Gardens on Madison's north side, where they will learn to prepare healthy meals from the vegetables they help grow. Other partnerships and projects are still being developed. "Some of these students have lived in Madison for years but have never left the isthmus. They are seeing that the issues in the films are very real, and real right here," says Mitman. "They are also learning new ways to think about community service — where they learn about doing things 'with' people, not 'for' them. That builds relationships, trust and follow-through."

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="467" caption="Robert West at Working Films on Wilmington along Castle Street. Photo by Ken Blevins"][/caption] By Lewis Beale StarNews Correspondent Robert West was working as a film programmer at Charlotte’s Mint Museum when he became increasingly interested in documentaries with a social context – films about race, health care, women’s and gay rights – because “they seemed to be the most powerful stories. I would watch 200 people in a room be collectively moved by a story.” But West noticed something else. After the lights went up, and the q&a session with the filmmaker began, the first question often would be “What can I do?” “And,” says West, “the filmmakers sometimes had a really good answer, and sometimes had no answer. And I felt this was missing an opportunity for this audience experience. I felt part of my responsibility was to enrich the audience experience, beyond just the passive viewing of the film.” So West began to invite local activists to the screenings, people working on the issues the films were addressing. These were folks who could tell audience members what was being done, how they could volunteer, where to give money. Then West took that basic idea and ran with it – partnered with filmmaker/activist Judith Helfand, he founded Wilmington-based Working Films, a media organization that helps socially conscious filmmakers connect with their target audiences, the activists and other interested parties organizing around specific issues. “There was this gap,” says West, “between the potential for social issue documentaries and the impact they could have.” West says this in the apartment he lives in on the second floor of a converted 1912 fire house at Fifth and Castle, where Working Films has been headquartered since 2001. The space is filled with antique-y bric a brac and works painted by West, who has a degree in painting and printmaking from Virginia Commonwealth. The ground floor is the operations center of the organization, which has a yearly budget of $1.2 million, mostly from foundation sources, and features large posters of documentaries Working Films has helped promote, including the Emmy Award-winning Ghosts of Abu Ghraib. West, 56, grew up in Philadelphia and Richmond. He worked at the Mint Museum for several years before starting Working Films, and moved to Wilmington when he was looking for office space, after a friend who was living here told him she was thinking of buying the fire house and asked if he’d be interested in signing on as a long-term tenant. He’s never regretted the decision. West enjoys the laidback local lifestyle, and as a kayaker, loves the fact that he can run down the street and dip into the Cape Fear River. He also sees it as a smart location choice in a strategic sense. “Mostly for funders, it’s intriguing and interesting,” he says, “ they’re always looking for a geographic spread.” But West also spends a lot of time in New York – “We have to have a presence there, because that’s where it’s all happening,” he says – and London, where Working Films recently opened an office that aims to promote UK-based documentaries. The organization operates in several ways, helping about 50 films and filmmakers a year. Filmmaker residencies, held at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams, involve seven or eight invited filmmakers. Working Films researches the issues involved in their movies, finds out what non-profits are working on them, then helps the filmmaker find target audiences, the right setting for screenings, how the documentary can be tied into policy issues. Strategy summits take one film and for a whole day and pair the filmmaker with interested non-profits, then helps them strategize a two to three-year release campaign. There is also what West calls non-traditional public relations. “We are connecting films to the most interested audiences through the use of social media tools,” he said. “We are using Facebook, most of it is Internet based, and that cuts through the barriers of getting your message out through more traditional media.” “It’s one thing to just make a film, it’s another to make a film and have it have some impact,” says Dan Habib, whose documentary, Including Samuel, about the mainstreaming of children with mental disabilities, was the subject of a strategy summit attended by 20 interested organizations, including the National Education Association and the Boys and Girl Scouts. “I needed to create an outreach strategy, and that’s where Working Films came in,” said Habib. “I realized they could maximize the relationships I already had with organizations, and create new partnerships. So we could get all these people in one room for a day, and say how can we use this film as a catalyst for social change? And how can you use this film to support your work?” This form of outreach can reach significant amounts of people. For Ghosts of Abu Ghraib, about the torture scandal in the Iraq prison, Working Films partnered with the ACLU, which was working on torture policy issues. The ACLU organized more than 900 screenings of the film over the course of four months, and other non-profits arranged 3,500 more. As far as West is concerned, this is only the tip of the iceberg. He believes that with all the new delivery systems out there – visual media that can be downloaded onto cell phones, for example – “it’s never been a better time for documentaries. We’re seeing people accessing these stories through all kinds of new engines.” And ultimately, it’s all about story. Which is why West got involved in the first place. “What we are looking for are those films that will engage audiences,” says West. “The best film is going to be the best tool. The power of the story comes first. And that’s what these films do; they ignite a dialogue where it might have been stuck before."

Are you a grassroots activist or a community organizer interested in using films for social change? Working Films is accepting applications for audience and community engagement coordinators, with possible openings starting in early 2010. These will be either full or part time positions connected to a number of new projects and campaigns that are in the development phase at Working Films. Engagement coordinators will manage national community engagement campaigns for social and environmental issue documentaries. Read more on our website.

As the weather on the balmy North Carolina coast hits 85º here today (hello climate change!), I am packing for London and then on to five intense days at the Sheffield Doc Fest. Starting 4 November, this international festival “celebrates the art and business of documentary filmmaking” and includes industry sessions, a marketplace, pitching opportunities, discussion panels and in-depth filmmaker master classes, as well as a wealth of inspirational documentary films from across the globe. On Thursday, 5 November join me and other panel members at The Chapel for “Working Your Film”, 12:45pm. Masterminded by my brilliant C4 BRITDOC colleague Jess Search, we’ll be joined by savvy filmmaker David Bond and web guru/creative director of Pixeco James Franklin. While the focus of the panel is on effective impact, the successes we’ll share are really about creating new pathways to reach audiences and turning them into impassioned viewers – so when the lights come up they are ready to act. For perhaps the first time, real independence from old models is possible. New models for filmmakers to reach wide audiences are emerging every day, many supported by partnerships with NGOs, activists, funders and brands. You bring them CONTENT, they bring you INTENT, and together there is IMPACT. In 2010, the new London office of Working Films, in partnership with BRITDOC, will award one free summit to qualifying UK filmmakers. Strategic summits define NGO and brand partnerships and lay the groundwork for multi-year audience and community engagement campaigns. This past year, we hosted summits for Moving to Mars (the opening night film at Doc Fest), and Erasing David (premiering at the Fest), gaining extraordinary commitment from their NGO partners and laying the groundwork for robust multiyear campaigns. A summit is a ₤7,500 value; we’ll share details about how to qualify at the Doc Fest panel.

It’s a new world, join us. (The Chapel is located on Norfolk, up from Surrey Street. It’s a real chapel, built circa 1700; the building alone is well worth the short hike!)

And join us afterwards, for the run of the Fest, at the The BRITDOC Bar (Leadmill Street and Suffolk Road). You can sign up for a free consultation with Working Films at the BRITDOC bar here. Limited availability. About Working Films UK: We have supported the development of strategic plans for a number of films breaking new ground, including: The Hunger Season (at the Fest), The Age of Stupid and End of the Line. And we are key collaborators for the Good Pitch, the new public face for audience engagement and partnership strategies.

Last week Working Films, The Fledgling Fund and Chicken & Egg Pictures hosted a 3 day workshop where 6 filmmakers came together to create audience engagement plans so that their films result in Reel Change.  All of the films tell the stories of and touch on issues that affect girls and young women. During the first 2 days, the filmmakers worked on their “community engagement mission statement” so-to-speak. Each filmmaker answered the question “What impact do you want your film to have?” We challenged filmmakers to get specific about the outcomes they wished to see from their film, prompting them to also answer the question, “So what?... So what if your film is broadcast and many people see it? Or, so what if you have community screenings? What will the measurable difference in the lives of girls and young women be when you film is used strategically? By the end of the two days filmmakers had drilled down to much more specific answers to these questions. Here’s a sampling of some of the concrete ideas. Jesse Epstein of Body Typed wants to use her series of short films on body image to engage men and boys in a conversation and shift their attitudes about the role of the media in shaping our perspectives on beauty. She believes that we not only have to build girls’ media literacy skills and self esteem by deconstructing false images of themselves but that boys and men have to be challenged to do the same. One idea she has for reaching this audience is to hold community screenings in neighborhood barbershops. Stephanie Wang-Breal’s film Wo Ai Ni Mommy is about more than just Chinese adoption, it is about questions of identity as well as a redefinition of exactly what is the new  Chinese American family. Through Fang Sui Yong (who is renamed “Faith” by her Jewish-American family) we see how quickly shifts in culture and identity can happen for young adoptees and other immigrant children immersed into a completely new culture. Stephanie wants to use her film to educate adoptive and potential adoptive parents of the cultural gains and losses that result from their adoption and their impact so they are better prepared to work through the questions of identity that their children face. She also wants to work with organizations to set up workshops for adult adoptees based around the film. Interestingly over the course of the residency Stephanie began to think about immigrant families as an additional potential audience for her film that could also benefit from structured workshops or Q&As around cultural and ethnic identity questions facing their children. Selena Burks, of the film Saving Jackie, used her time at the residency to focus in on how her film can be a tool to serve youth who have experienced many of the same abuses that she did growing up in a home with parents addicted to drugs. To date Selena has had success using the film as an educational tool for foster parents, social workers and other adults that work with youth in these situations. But at Real Girls, Reel Change she came up with some solid ideas about creating a screening toolkit that organizations working with youth in the foster care system or other at-risk groups could use so that the film becomes a prompt for young people to share their own stories of hardship and resiliency and to get access to resources that they might not have known existed. In particular Selena was introduced to the idea of targeting youth that are aging out of the foster care system and using the film as a jumping off point for them to learn about resources available to them. Selena had a chance to test out this model of using the film with youth immediately after Real Girls, Reel Change, with a screening for young women at the Lower Eastside Girls Club in Manhattan on the same night as the workshop. These are just a few examples of ideas that came from the Real Girls, Reel Change workshop. And this is only the beginning of a much larger collaboration among these films and NGOs. You would think with all these filmmakers in the room there would be competiveness, but the 3 days were nothing but a supportive and encouraging environment. All of the filmmakers shared their experiences of what works and hasn’t worked for them and learned much from one another. There were talks of how all of the films can be used in one big collaborative effort, an idea that was also championed by the NGOs and foundations that participated on the final day of the residency. On the last day held at 92YTribeca, the filmmakers did a marvelous job of presenting their ideas and pitching their films to numerous NGOs and foundations. A group of young women from NYC based writing program Power Writers were also present to observe and compose poems to summarize the things they learned over the course of the day. The poems were extremely powerful and were a testament to the impact that these films can make in the lives of girls. Everyone left the day with concrete ideas on how to incorporate media and film into the current work they are doing and with some specific goals to start working towards with these films and filmmakers. And the best part of it all is that this is only the beginning! More Real Girls, Reel Change: All related posts about Real Girls, Reel Change on Working Films' blog Facebook Photo Album Twitter #RealGirls Chicken & Egg Picture’s blog: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 Chicken & Egg's YouTube Channel Katherine Broendel from the American Association of University of Women's blog Kathleen Sweeney from Reel Grrls' blog