Facing Race Conference: Race Flicks 2020 Film Line Up!

Race Forward and Working Films are excited to announce the 2020 Race Flicks film track of Facing Race: A National Conference being held virtually from November 10-12, 2020. Race Flicks lifts up critical issues of racial justice through film. This year’s program maintains a focus on accountable filmmaking that truly respects and reflects the people and places featured, and holds great potential to build power among those represented in the stories at hand. The selected films were chosen in large part because of the way they have been or could…

Story Leads To Action Workshop

How can films shift public understanding and inspire action for social justice? Working Films—together with our partners at The Light Factory and The School of Good Citizenship— is leading a free online workshop on September 24th at 1pm ET focused on leveraging the power of documentaries to amplify important messages, reach and rally key audiences, build partnerships, and influence decision makers. As a case study, the workshop will feature Stories Beyond Borders, an organizing initiative featuring five short films that together show a comprehensive picture of the attacks on immigrants…

Accepting proposals: operations and management consultant

Do you have experience with organizations working at the intersection of art and social justice? Expertise in managing a staff of 5-20 people? And a passion for systems and processes? Working Films is looking for an operations and management consultant to join us for 6 months to update protocols for operational systems and processes in the context of rapid growth and amidst the pandemic. More details can be found here. Please help us find a visionary person to work with by sharing this post with your networks! Use the arrows…

Announcing the 2020 Works-in-Progress Lab

The Works-in-Progress Lab (WiP) is a partnership between Cucalorus and Working Films that supports the audience engagement and impact strategies of social issue documentaries being made by Black filmmakers. The week-long virtual residency is a key program of the annual Cucalorus. Five filmmakers receive extensive community feedback during a series of public and private screenings, workshops, and one-on-one consultations with expert mentors. We’re thrilled to announce that the following documentary films have been selected for the 2020 WiP lab: 17 Days directed by and about Christine Varisse, is a dissection…

Three social justice online screening events in June 2020

Are you looking to engage in more conversations about racial justice? Or maybe there are people you know who are looking to expand their analysis and understanding of systemic inequities? We invite you to join us for our upcoming online screening events this week and next, which will tackle environmental racism, immigrant justice, and equity during disasters. Please spread the word to your networks! Mossville: When Great Trees Fall June 16 @ 7pm ET RSVP here for streaming link Presented with Partnership For Southern Equity What does environmental racism mean?…

The 2020 Rural Cinema Cohort

Rural Cinema is a training institute and community engagement program aimed at supporting rural leaders across the United States in using films as a resource in their work. The program supports participants in holding live community events that engage their communities and advance their goals over the course of one year. This year’s program has a special focus on serving individuals and organizations working for environmental justice and protection in areas directly impacted by polluting industries or transitioning from being economically fueled by natural resource extraction to adopting other more…

Celebrating 20 Years!

Working Films has decided to postpone our 20th Anniversary celebration. As an organization, we deeply value and strive to practice accountability in all of the work that we do. In the wake of the COVID-19 virus outbreak, we have been reflecting on what accountability looks like now, in regard to bringing large groups of people together at events. We have weighed our choices, being mindful not to fan the flames of fear while responding appropriately and responsibly. The bottom line is that we are committed to creating events that are…

Announcing the 2019 Docs in Action Film Fund Recipients

Working Films launched the Docs In Action Film Fund in 2018 to support the production of short documentaries that address critical issues of social and environmental justice. This year’s call for proposals sought nonfiction films that tell a fuller story of immigration. We looked for films that reveal the harms perpetuated by immigration enforcement practices that extend beyond the crisis at the border, as well as films that expand popular understanding of immigrants and their varied experiences. We are excited to announce that we have awarded a total of $60,000…

2019 Cucalorus Works-in-Progress Lab 

We are excited to announce the 2019 Cucalorus Works in Progress Lab, a week long residency that supports the audience engagement and distribution strategies of social issue documentaries being made by Black filmmakers. This year’s featured films include:  Black Barbie: A Documentary, directed by Lagueria Davis charts the rise of the most iconic girl toy brand of all time through the eyes of the filmmaker’s aunt, Beulah Mae Mitchell who spent 45 years working at Mattel.  Commuted, directed by Nailah Jefferson tells the story of Danielle Metz, after being sentenced…

Energy Democracy Tour Launches in The Tennessee Valley

SEE PICTURES FROM THE TOUR!  We’re partnering with Appalachian Voices and Sunshine Cinema and hitting the road for the Tennessee Valley Energy Democracy Listening Tour! Events across the state are providing opportunities for community members to discuss the history and impacts of the TVA energy system, evaluate decision making, and inviting attendees to vision how our public power could better serve communities in the Valley. The events include solar powered screenings of the film The Electric Valley and will highlight stories of local energy reform efforts. By powering film events…