Eleven Films to be part of Reel Aging: Real Change

Working Films is proud to announce the documentary projects selected for Reel Aging: Real Change, an initiative supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.  These eleven compelling documentary films and transmedia projects explore aging from varied perspectives and will be tied to the ongoing policy work and grassroots campaigns supporting older populations. The collaborative of Reel Aging projects was curated to include films that reflect the highest caliber of film-making, feature the most pressing issues facing older adults, and celebrate elders. These projects tell inspiring stories of…

SEMPER FI: ALWAYS FAITHFUL Comes Home to Jacksonville

Robert West, Working Films; Tony Hardmon and Rachel Libert, filmmakers; Master Sgt Jerry Ensminger at Cucalorus. On Saturday, November 12, Semper Fi: Always Faithful screened at a “sold out” crowd at our local and hip indie film fest Cucalorus. The next day, Sunday, November 13, Working Films Robert West and filmmakers Rachel Libert and Tony Hardmon took Semper Fi back home to Jacksonville, NC and Camp Lejeune for its first non-festival premiere. The film tells the story of retired Marine Jerry Ensminger’s fight for justice on behalf of U.S. soldiers…

Story Leads to Action: What's On Your Plate & Pipe Fire

    This month at 92Y Tribeca, our STORY LEADS TO ACTION series will celebrate two films in our REEL FOOD initiative: What’s on Your Plate?: two years and running with extraordinary impact and more to come, and Pipe Fire, just starting it’s engagement campaign. What’s On Your Plate? is a witty and thought-provoking documentary about kids and food politics produced and directed by award-winning Catherine Gund, and co-produced by her daughter Sadie Rain Hope-Gund and her daughter’s friend Safiyah Kai Russell Riddle. Filmed over the course of one year, the…

Reel Change in the Bay Area

Working Films and The Fledgling Fund in partnership with the Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC) just wrapped our second Reel Change: Managing Social Issue Film Campaigns workshop in San Francisco. Launched in New York City last December, this series of trainings is open to the field and intended to give individuals the skills to lead creative engagement campaigns for social issue documentary films and related media projects. We brought together a stellar group of filmmakers, community organizers, and experts in the field of audience engagement. Led by Molly Murphy and…

Working Films celebrates An American Promise and Semper Fi at Cucalorus

On Saturday, November 12, Working Films is hosting a celebration of two films that are part of the line up in the hip local indie film fest Cucalorus. Rachel Libert and Tony Hardmon’s SEMPER FI: ALWAYS FAITHFUL is an award-winning film that tells a story of particular urgency for NC. Master Sgt. Jerry Ensminger devoted 25 years of service to the U.S. Marines, whose motto, “Semper Fidelis,” means “Always Faithful.” When stationed at Camp Lejeune, his 9-year-old daughter died from a rare form of leukemia and Ensminger wants to know…

Reimagining the Region: Building a New Detroit Metropolis

“This was about keeping hope alive – the past is not who we are.” “This event allowed us to see successful strategies (from other cities) that can translate to our own community.” “I feel confident our community can change and make strength in diversity a reality.” These were just a few out of 180 positive comments from over 200+ audience members at the Reimagining the Region: Building a New Detroit Metropolis forum, centered around Andrea Torrice’s documentary series The New Metropolis, hosted at the Emagine Royal Oak Theater on September…

“We Sea Change” Screening Premiere

Over the past few months, four students from Isaac Bear Early College High School have been working on a 20 minute documentary addressing climate change and the impact is has to our coastal community in Wilmington, NC. Their film We Sea Change: A Student Perspective on Climate and a Changing World will premiere at the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher on Wednesday, September 28th 2011 at 6:30pm. A panel discussion will follow the screening and organizations from around the region will host educational booths for audience members. Cape Fear…

Gen Silent Filmmaker Comes to Wilmington

“The generation that fought hardest to come out is going back in to survive” Gen Silent is a critically-acclaimed documentary from filmmaker Stu Maddux that explores the challenges of six LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi, trans) seniors who face the difficult choice of hiding their friends, their spouses and their entire lives in order to survive in the health care system. For Family Fest 2011 the Frank Harr Foundation will open the event with a meet & greet reception for Gen Silent director, Stu Maddux, on Thursday, September 29, 2011, at…

Reimagining the Region: Building a New Metropolis

“Detroit has been deteriorating for over 40 years because of disinvestment,” said Ponsella Hardaway, Executive Director of Metropolitan Organizing Strategy Enabling Strength (MOSES), one of the sponsors of “Reimagining the Region: Building a New Metropolis”. A screening of The New Metropolis and a community dialogue about the film and its relevance to the region will take place at the Emagine Royal Oak Theater on Thursday, Sept. 15 from 7 – 9 p.m. A light dinner precedes the event at 6:00. The forum is free and open to the public. The…

Land of Opportunity's Interactive Web-based Initiative

When I was in Detroit over the summer for the Allied Media Conference, I attended a workshop presented by Evan Casper-Futterman, Co-Producer of the film Land of Opportunity. He explained how the film is using Mozilla Foundation’s WebMadeMovies initiative to create an interactive web campaign. Afterwards, I caught up with Evan to find out a bit more about how the interactive videos work and supplement the film. Here’s what he had to say: A key component of the Land of Opportunity documentary project is the production and distribution of interactive…