2011 has started with a bang, as we celebrate our 10th anniversary with a new grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The grant will support a new residency open to the field of filmmakers and non-fiction media makers, intended to support strategic collaborations between non-profit/non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and story-driven documentaries. This one-year grant of $300,000 will enable us to research, design and facilitate a week-long residency built around one urgent theme. Following the residency, and supported by the grant, we will launch a high profile campaign…
The Reel Power Film series kicks off the New Year with the Emmy-award winning film, Split Estate – a film every American should see this year! Get Involved!: 1) Host a House Party of Emmy-award winning Split Estate in January. You can purchase a DVD of Split Estate here. Note that bulk pricing is available if you’d like to use this film with your organization. 2) Take Action with Split Estate by contacting your state legislators to express your concern over oil and gas drilling. A list of resources to…
Working Films’ hometown, Wilmington NC, is gearing up today for the Cucalorus Film Festival. Named one of the “25 Coolest Film Festivals” by Movie Maker Magazine, Cucalorus is always a great time with an incredible lineup of films. We’re especially excited that a film we have done some strategy development with, A New Kind of Listening, is going to be at the festival. A New Kind of Listening is the story of a visionary director, a one-of-a-kind theater group, and a young man who could not speak, yet found the…
Last week, Working Films enjoyed a banquet of good stuff at the Sheffield Doc-Fest, hosting a highly interactive Story Leads to Action on Friday afternoon, and participating in a lively panel discussion on Saturday. Story Leads to Action, coordinated by our UK staffer Sarah Mosses, brought together the production company Submarine from The Netherlands, a team of NGOs working on key environmental issues, and the Sheffield Doc-Fest audience together for a very robust discussion about potential community engagement ideas and target audiences. To kick it off, I shared some case…
Working Films is proud to be sponsoring a Story Leads to Action panel, part of the Doc Convergence Symposium: Nov. 5th, 11:15am to 12:30pm, at the IFC Center. I will be leading an interactive discussion with the filmmakers, invited NGO’s, activists, policy shapers, educators, funders and the audience. The goal: filmmakers walk out with the “bones” of an engagement strategy, a “pilot” project ready to test in Gotham and beyond, and/or a better understanding of what “impact” could look like. To Be Heard and Lost Bohemia will be having their…
We’ve had a great year of Good Pitches so far! From DC to the UK and most recently San Francisco, we’ve been covering ground and helping generate exciting partnerships among filmmakers, NGOs, funders and brands. Are you wondering what happens at these pitches? Fear not! Rachel Seifert (of the film Not on the Label) gives insight on what it’s like to be up on the pitcher’s mound. Last week I pitched at the BritDoc Good Pitch –my first ever pitching session! I was pretty nervous. Despite having interviewed a number…
Don’t you think a movement needs more than one good movie? We are excited to announce a new collaboration with ten groundbreaking filmmakers – Reel Power: Films Fueling the Energy Revolution! The Reel Power film series tells the many stories of our energy crisis, and most importantly, community opportunities for sustainable growth. The series launches on November 23rd with the film Deep Down which premiers that night on PBS’s Independent Lens. Here’s how you can join the excitement: 1. Spread the word! Help us make our campaign go viral by…
On October 2 – 8th, I will be in Catania, Italy for the third session of the European Social Documentary training, commonly called ESoDoc, an initiative offered by ZeLIG School for Documentary and supported by the European Union’s MEDIA Program. ESoDoc explores wholly new terrain for EU filmmakers and brings together the demands of different players now involved in documentary film production and distribution, including directors and producers, non-government and non profit-making organizations (NGOs and NPOs), television broadcasters and the growing range of New Media professionals creating both web-documentaries and…
Are you interested in developing skills to effectively manage film campaigns on social justice issues? If so, you should apply to our latest Reel Engagement workshop, Managing Social Issue Film Campaigns, which we designed with the Fledgling Fund. This 4 day hands-on workshop is designed for individuals who are interested in developing the skills necessary to be Engagement Coordinators; designing and managing creative and impactful audience and community engagement campaigns for independent social issue documentary films or media projects. Read more and apply now! Deadline is October 22, 2010
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