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…
We’re often asked by filmmakers, “What makes a good screening guide?” If you want to help hosts organize an intentional event with your film, a screening guide can be great tool for ensuring the planning process runs smoothly and easily. Of course you will want to offer a synopsis of the film, brief character biographies, and some background on the issues so screening hosts can have that information on hand. Here are some tips that will help your guide be an invaluable resource. Include the step-by-step process of planning and…
Cinereach, a not-for-profit dedicated to supporting and producing artful films that depict underrepresented perspectives, cross cultural boundaries, and promote dialogue, is currently seeking applicants for its annual Reach Film Fellowship. The prestigious six-month program supports young filmmakers with grants, resources, and industry mentors who help guide their short films through all stages of production. The application deadline is July 15, 2009. Applications and guidelines can be found at http://www.reachfilmfellowship.com. Four winning applicants will be awarded $5,000 and be mentored by an established filmmaker. Fellows also receive production support from sponsors,…
You can’t just want your film to be a powerful tool for creating social change. YOU HAVE TO ENSURE IT! Working Films is accepting applications for the first annual Fledgling Fund and Chicken & Egg Pictures Grantee Residency to be held in the beautiful Hudson Valley at the LifeBridge Sanctuary Retreat Center, August 12-15, 2009. Eight filmmakers will be selected to participate in this interactive retreat focused on the nuts & bolts of audience and community engagement campaigning for non-fiction films. This residency is for Chicken & Egg and Fledgling…
We know that filmmakers are looking for new ways to think about distribution. We hear it on our consultations, at film festivals and our residencies that we host. We often hear questions like: “Should I consider a non-exclusive agreement with a distributor?”, “How can I use Facebook and YouTube to release my film?”, and of course, “How can I increase the access of my film to organizations who are working on the issues?” These are great questions, and we’re seeing many filmmakers creating new paths and finding innovative solutions to…
Judith and I just announced the Full Frame / Working Films Award at the barbecue. Our award, sponsored by Chicken & Egg Pictures and the Ettinger Foundation, is for the film that holds the greatest potential for supporting serious grassroots organizing, equity, justice and human rights. This year we gave the award to a film which much of it was shot with small digital camcorders. It is an instructive, how-to, inspiring primer on what citizen journalism is all about. It speaks to the power of individuals using what ever recording…
Reel Justice, a film conference on media activism will kick-off its national tour in Jackson, MS at Tougaloo College from Friday, March 27, 2009 at 6PM through Saturday, March 28, 2009. Sponsored by Working Films and the Andrus Family Fund the conference focuses on models for community reconciliation as a response to violence, and in particular police brutality, racially motivated violence and violence against women. Jackson activists Nsombi Lambright of the ACLU, Derrick Johnson of the NAACP and Chokwe Lumumba of the National Conference of Black Lawyers will join, filmmakers,…
The second stop for The Good Pitch in North America will be at SILVERDOCS: AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival June 18-22nd, near Washington, D.C. The Good Pitch at SILVERDOCS is now open for submissions. The deadline is Monday, March 16, 2009. The Good Pitch is a unique opportunity for filmmakers to pitch social-issue documentary projects and associated campaign strategies to an audience of NGOs, foundations, campaigners, advertising agencies, brands and media. Last summer we co-hosted the inaugural Good Pitch at the BRITDOC Film Festival, and had a spectacular time. The Good…
We are excited to announce the 8 film projects selected to be part of the 2009 Content + Intent Documentary Institute, Working Films’ Residency at MASS MoCA. We reviewed a number of extraordinary projects and faced a difficult decision narrowing it down to the 8 films that will be part of the residency, which takes place March 11-15th in North Adams, MA. Of the many amazing entries we selected those projects that we believe have the greatest potential to benefit from a collaborative workshop focused on creating intentional and strategic…
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