Now in its fourth year, Working Films’ Impact Kickstart program has helped underrepresented filmmakers create strategic goals for impact and specific plans to engage future partners, funders, and audiences in meaningful ways. This year, we will be providing $30,000 in impact campaign funding to each recipient, in addition to our in-kind services. Impact Kickstart recipients will use these grants toward the implementation of each film’s impact campaign. In reflection about the evolution of Impact Kickstart, Gerry Leonard, who now leads the program says, “In all of our work, we prioritize…
The history of the prison industrial complex is rooted in slavery and colonization, with an inherent purpose of reinforcing oppressive social and economic injustices. It’s driven by market forces that use surveillance, policing, violence and imprisonment as solutions to economic, social, and political problems. It is exacted by police officers, guards, ICE officers, and others that enforce state violence. Brutality and racism has always been the norm. The system is working how it was designed, and reform measures will always fall short. To illuminate these realities and get to a…
Working Films is seeking a highly organized, flexible part-time contract grant writer and administrator. The ideal candidate has a passion for social justice and can create compelling narratives that communicate enthusiasm about our work and the role of documentary film in environmental and racial justice movements. In addition to drafting grant proposals, the grant writer and administrator will be responsible for managing the administrative side of the grants cycle, ensuring that deadlines are successfully met and project milestones are well communicated with funders. Working Films will be hiring a full-time…
Working Films hosted three events during the 2021 Sundance Film Festival at our virtual venue, THE MOVEMENT SPACE. These conversations examined power, collaboration, accountability, and the magic of film as a catalyst for radical imagination and action. Click below to watch them now! BUILDING POWER THROUGH CREATIVE COLLABORATION A conversation about building collective power through creative collaboration. The Rise-Home Stories Project is a group of multimedia storytellers and housing and land justice advocates who are coming together to reimagine the past, present, and future of our communities by transforming the…
North Carolina Humanities and Working Films have collaborated on an exclusive version of Revisioning Recovery: Films Uncovering the Roots of Disaster, a limited-time documentary and discussion series for communities in North Carolina. Revisioning Recovery features a collection of five short films that tell environmental disaster recovery stories and examine historical inequities that worsen when disasters hit. Sponsored by North Carolina Humanities, these free events will also include interactive, post-screening discussions. The first screening event will take place on February 17, hosted by Alamance Community College with upcoming events happening in…
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…
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…
Four new documentaries are getting an IMPACT KICKSTART from Working Films! Congratulations to the film teams selected for the second round of in-kind impact campaign support. They include: EATING UP EASTER Directed by Sergio Mata’u Rapu The iconic statues and sensationalized “mysteries” of Easter Island (Rapa Nui) have drawn the interest of the world for centuries, attracting curious visitors to its shores. Today, this tiny, barren island is experiencing an economic boon as tourism skyrockets. Yet the indigenous culture and the island’s fragile environment are suffering. Eating Up Easter, directed by…
We are excited to announce the 8 organizations selected to participate in Putting Films to Work, a year-long training institute for Georgia-based nonprofits that will leverage the power of documentary media to advance their organizing, educational, and advocacy goals. The program is designed to help organizations embrace nonfiction film as a critical resource and a natural component of what they do; resource the organizations and individual leaders with specific films and the skills to put them to work; and increase the strategic use of documentary films in community settings, creating…
For a documentary film to make a difference, a solid strategy for audience engagement and strong partnerships are key. Filmmakers often lack time to do this work themselves or the expertise and the funds to pay for it. Emerging artists, creators of color, and other underrepresented artists can face the biggest hurdles, despite the potential of their projects. Impact Kickstart is a program offering in-kind strategy development to underrepresented documentary makers with feature films in progress that hold great promise to catalyze action to address critical issues of our time.…
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