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Real Girls, Reel Change Participants!

September 28, 2009 BY Molly Murphy

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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 than one great film on a topic to support sustained social change.

Professional filmmakers and outreach coordinators representing the following five films will participate in Real Girls, Reel Change October 21-23, 2009 in New York City.

Saving Jackie Selena A. Burks
Body Typed Jesse Epstein and Trish Dalton
Going on 13 Dawn Valadez and Kristy Guevara-Flanagan
Wo Ai Ni Mommy Stephanie Wang-Breal
Seneca Falls Louise Vance and Libby Scancarello

These filmmakers will spend two days honing their audience engagement plans, learning from one another and from experts in the field of audience and community engagement, and crafting plans for possible collaboration in the future. This group will be joined by two teams of youth media makers and their mentors. The two youth media projects that will be part of the residency are still to be determined. Check back soon for additional information about the selected youth media projects.

On the third and final day of Real Girls, Reel Change the adult and youth filmmakers will be joined by funders and non-profits for a day long workshop. Together they will participate in workshops, panel discussions, and brainstorming sessions where they will learn about the effectiveness of film as a tool for advancing organizational priorities and mission. Filmmakers will have the opportunity to informally present their audience engagement ideas to non-profits leaders working on girls’ issues. These organizations may become partners or may offer valuable feedback on the feasibility and impact potential of their plans.

Working Films, and our collaborators on this project – The Fledgling Fund and Chicken and Egg Pictures, are very excited about this new format for our work. We look forward to working with all of the selected filmmakers.

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