Back in the U.K. at Sheffield!

Last month, Working Films returned to the Sheffield Doc-Fest, June 13 – 17, hosting a third year of our highly interactive Story Leads to Action panel, co-hosted with the Festival. Coordinated by our UK staffer Sarah Ross, and facilitated by Robert West, Story Leads to Action brought together filmmaker Frederick Gertten, and his new film Big Boys Gone Bananas*, with Marcos Zunino, a legal officer at Article 19 in London specializing in freedom of expression and international law. In 2009, when Frederick Gertten’s film Bananas!* was accepted into the Los…

Reel Education Updates!

Working Films is still hard at work with the filmmakers of the Reel Education collective. We’re excited about plans we have in the works to bring the Reel Ed films to cities across the country, where they can advance education organizing and advocacy on important issues such as arts education, the achievement gap, after school programming, and positive approaches to school discipline. We’re also delighted to announce that we’ve added two new films to the collective, A Community Concern which tells the story of how community organizing can be a…

Reel Aging Reflections

Many months ago, when Working Films started laying the groundwork for our Reel Aging residency and follow-up campaign, my understanding of issues related to aging was fairly limited. Probably like many people, especially my peers in our early 30s, I didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about the later stages of my life. The older members of my family are in good health, so our family hasn’t had to deal with many challenges or crises related to aging. So, with no sense of urgency, and a culture that doesn’t…

Announcing Reel Power Grassroots Mini-grantees

One month ago, we invited organizations and grassroots groups that are impacted by natural resource extraction, climate change or are tapping into renewable energy solutions to apply for one of fourteen mini-grants to support their Reel Power Film Festival (RPFF). Thanks to all that helped us spread the word. We received an incredible response. We are very excited to provide these films to organizations that will use them to advance their outstanding efforts. The following four projects are the recipients of the first tier grants. For these organizations Working Films’ Reel…

Reel Equality takes action!

It’s no surprise North Carolinians are organizing in opposition to the cynical Amendment One ballot initiative timed for the primary on May 8th. Amendment One would codify a ban on same-sex marriage AND nullify civil unions and domestic partnerships of all couples – gay or straight. Our friends at the Daily Kos have some recent encouraging news on the likely outcome from voters. In January, Jen Jones with Race to the Ballot started literally running across the state to raise awareness in towns from the mountains of Asheville to the…

Hell and Back Again

What does it mean to lead men in war? What does it mean to come home – injured physically and psychologically – and build a life anew? Danfung Dennis’ Hell and Back Again is a cinematically revolutionary film that asks and answers these questions with a power and intimacy no previous film about the conflict in Afghanistan has been able to achieve. Working Films, with the presenting partners of Danfung Dennis and his team, The Fledgling Fund and Impact Partners, is developing an audience and community engagement campaign to take…

Dirty Business Takes on Chicago

On February 10th, we organized a screening of Dirty Business in Chicago with The Environmental Justice Alliance of Greater Southeast Chicago and The Center for investigative Reporting. Director Peter Bull attended and hosted the Q&A after the film. Below is his recap of the event: I was invited out to Chicago’s Southeast Side to do a Q&A after a screening of Dirty Business, hosted by a coalition of local environmental and faith groups who are trying to shut down two outmoded, badly-polluting old coal-fired power plants in the Pilsen and…

Reel Equality Film Festival

On February 11 & 12, Working Films hosted a great weekend of events for our media campaign Reel Equality. Aimed at defeating the anti-gay NC amendment coming up for a vote this May, the campaign is touring 6 stellar documentary films on LGBT struggles to audiences around the state to inspire viewers — our straight allies, our co-workers, members of our congregations, and those who care about the welfare of our vulnerable youth — to VOTE NO. Being headquartered in Wilmington, NC, we were excited by the high energy and…

Apply to Reel Change!

Working Films and The Fledgling Fund have just announced Reel Change 2012, the third in our annual series of workshops for audience and community engagement coordinators. This time we’re hosting in Washington D.C. in collaboration with the Center for Social Media at American University. The focus of the training is on designing and running successful media engagement campaigns – from honing the purpose and vision of the campaign, to approaching and solidifying relationships with non-profit organizational allies and brands; effective website and social media strategies to fundraising, tracking and evaluation.…

Dirty Business Goes to Chicago

Dirty Business is an impressive film that takes a hard look at the cycle of coal, and examines the PR campaign of clean coal and its subsequent consequences. The film also looks at the extent to which we could replace coal by increasing our energy efficiency by telling the stories of innovators who are pointing the way to an alternative energy future. Working Films, along with The Center for Investigative Reporting and The Environmental Justice Alliance of Greater Southeast Chicago, will host a free screening of the film that’s open…