Reflections on Real Girls, Reel Change

Last week Working Films, The Fledgling Fund and Chicken & Egg Pictures hosted a 3 day workshop where 6 filmmakers came together to create audience engagement plans so that their films result in Reel Change.  All of the films tell the stories of and touch on issues that affect girls and young women. During the first 2 days, the filmmakers worked on their “community engagement mission statement” so-to-speak. Each filmmaker answered the question “What impact do you want your film to have?” We challenged filmmakers to get specific about the…

Tales from Planet Earth 2009 film fest returns with broad community ambitions

Reposted from Isthmus: The Daily Page By David Medaris Tuesday 10/27/2009 Gregg Mitman thought Tales from Planet Earth would be a one-shot deal. The UW-Madison history of science professor and interim director of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies was a principal organizer of the 2007 environmental film festival. “Opening night, there was a line two blocks long waiting to get into the Orpheum,” he remembers. He had anticipated 500 people might show up that first night. Instead, more than twice that number turned out. By the end of the…

Chicken & Egg's take on Real Girls, Reel Change: Day 3

Reposted from Chicken & Egg Picture’s Blog By Natalie Difford Wednesday 10/21/2009 Two days of intensive workshops, sharing and, ultimately, caring for one another’s projects at the REAL GIRLS REEL CHANGE retreat made for a riveting final day at the 92Y Tribeca. Here, the six filmmakers were given opportunity to share and “pitch” their projects to interested nonprofit organizations and funders invited by Working Films. Stephanie Wang-Breal (Wo Ai Ni Mommy) takes us through the day: In the morning, each of the six filmmakers were given 10 minutes to present…

Chicken & Egg's take on Real Girls, Reel Change: Day 2

Reposted from Chicken & Egg Picture’s Blog By Natalie Difford Thursday 10/22/2009 There’s something stirring here in Chappaqua on day two of REAL GIRLS REEL CHANGE as six filmmakers begin to move beyond the brainstorming sessions we held yesterday in order to create some very concrete, specific asks to pose to potential partners on the final day of our 3 day workshop tomorrow. When asked how their approach had evolved thus far, the Seneca Falls team exclaimed: “you can outreach all you want but I realized that the people you…

Real Girls, Reel Change Workshop

We just wrapped up  Day 1 of the Real Girls, Reel Change, a collaborative workshop between Working Films, The Fledgling Fund and Chicken & Egg Pictures. The first day has been high energy and really productive. Each filmmaker was asked  to share what impact they want their film to have. There were some great ideas that came from the discussion and we were able to narrow down some broad concepts to concrete and realistic goals. From there, we explored the targeted audiences of each film and different ways to plug the films into those groups. The…

Chicken & Egg's take on Real Girls, Reel Change: Day 1

Reposted from Chicken & Egg Picture’s Blog By Natalie Difford Wednesday 10/21/2009 The first day of REAL GIRLS REEL CHANGE has been long but already Working Films is helping the Chicken & Egg/Fledgling Fund filmmakers recognize how to think, talk about and strategize for their films. REAL GIRLS REEL CHANGE is an innovative three-day workshop that will nurture the work of non-profit organizations, filmmakers, and funders that are focused on supporting the physical, emotional, and social well being of girls and young women. Today we have been identifying what “impact”…

Freeheld to Show at 92YTribeca

Chicken & Egg Pictures and Working Films along with our special guest presenter The Fledgling Fund invite you to join us at Story Leads To Action – a monthly series at the 92YTribeca Screening Room. On Thursday, October 15th at 7:30 pm we’re kicking-off the 2009-2010 series with a celebratory screening of the Academy Award-winning Freeheld, directed by Cynthia Wade. This evening will celebrate how and why power of short film and a rigorous community engagement campaign can make a difference. Lieutenant Laurel Hester is dying. All she wants to…

Real Girls, Reel Change Participants!

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…

The Good Pitch at IFP

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…

Announcing the Line up for the Good Pitch UK

The Good Pitch is returning to the UK on September 7th and 8th. It is hosted by Amnesty International at their East London auditorium and is held in association with One World Media. Eight extraordinary projects have been selected to pitch on September 8th with the following filmmakers: Antony Butts (After the Apocalypse), Lesley Katon (A Very Dangerous Man), Dan Edelstyn (How to Re-Establish a Vodka Empire), Hannan Majid & Richard York (Mass e Bhat), Rosa Rogers (Casablanca Calling), Mat Whitecross (Moving to Mars), Morgan Matthews (Seventeen) and Jerry Rothwell…