We know that filmmakers are looking for new ways to think about distribution. We hear it on our consultations, at film festivals and our residencies that we host. We often hear questions like: “Should I consider a non-exclusive agreement with a distributor?”, “How can I use Facebook and YouTube to release my film?”, and of course, “How can I increase the access of my film to organizations who are working on the issues?” These are great questions, and we’re seeing many filmmakers creating new paths and finding innovative solutions to…
We’d like to congratulate filmmaker Marco Williams who has been selected by the Organization of American Historians to receive the 2009 Erik Barnouw Award, which is given annually for outstanding reporting or programming on network or cable television, or in documentary film, concerned with American history, the study of American history, and/or the promotion of history. On Saturday, March 28, OAH President Pete Daniel and President-Elect Elaine Tyler May presented the awards and prizes in Seattle, Washington, during the 102nd Annual Meeting of the Organization. Marco’s latest film, Banished, is…
We’re excited to share an announcement of the films in the first Good Pitch North America. Held on May 7, 2009, in Toronto at Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, the Good Pitch North America is a partnership between Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation and the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program, generously supported by the Fledgling Fund. Working Films is acting as an outreach consultant on the Good Pitch. Specifically, we have invited NGO’s and non-profit partners to participate in the event and we are training filmmakers accepted into the program…
Although we wrapped up the Content +Intent Documentary Institute just under a month ago, I wanted to take a moment to share some photos from the event in the hopes of giving you a glimpse into the inner workings of the residency and, if you are a filmmaker, peak your interest in participating in future Working Films’ residencies and workshops. The 5 days that we share with filmmakers at MASS MoCA each year is re-energizing for me because I get a chance to interact with both the folks making these…
Judith and I just announced the Full Frame / Working Films Award at the barbecue. Our award, sponsored by Chicken & Egg Pictures and the Ettinger Foundation, is for the film that holds the greatest potential for supporting serious grassroots organizing, equity, justice and human rights. This year we gave the award to a film which much of it was shot with small digital camcorders. It is an instructive, how-to, inspiring primer on what citizen journalism is all about. It speaks to the power of individuals using what ever recording…
Working Films is excited to announce the opening of Working Films UK, a London office in partnership with the Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation – extending the services of Working Films to filmmakers in the United Kingdom and Europe. Since 2007, the Working Films team has collaborated with BRITDOC on filmmaker trainings, strategy summits for feature documentaries, festival workshops and, most recently, the foundation’s very first North American Good Pitch at Hot Docs. Held at Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival on May 7, 2009, in Toronto, the Good Pitch is…
Reel Justice, a film conference on media activism will kick-off its national tour in Jackson, MS at Tougaloo College from Friday, March 27, 2009 at 6PM through Saturday, March 28, 2009. Sponsored by Working Films and the Andrus Family Fund the conference focuses on models for community reconciliation as a response to violence, and in particular police brutality, racially motivated violence and violence against women. Jackson activists Nsombi Lambright of the ACLU, Derrick Johnson of the NAACP and Chokwe Lumumba of the National Conference of Black Lawyers will join, filmmakers,…
Each summer we bring in people who possess the initiative to take on new and innovative assignments through our George Stoney Fellowship. We are currently accepting applications! The fellowship is a great opportunity for anyone who is interested in using film and media as tools to create activist awareness of the most important issues we face today. You can read more about the namesake, George Stoney, and the qualifications for the fellowship here. Read what last years Stoney Fellow, Nekoro Gomes, had to say about his experiences: As a George…
The second stop for The Good Pitch in North America will be at SILVERDOCS: AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival June 18-22nd, near Washington, D.C. The Good Pitch at SILVERDOCS is now open for submissions. The deadline is Monday, March 16, 2009. The Good Pitch is a unique opportunity for filmmakers to pitch social-issue documentary projects and associated campaign strategies to an audience of NGOs, foundations, campaigners, advertising agencies, brands and media. Last summer we co-hosted the inaugural Good Pitch at the BRITDOC Film Festival, and had a spectacular time. The Good…
We are excited to announce the 8 film projects selected to be part of the 2009 Content + Intent Documentary Institute, Working Films’ Residency at MASS MoCA. We reviewed a number of extraordinary projects and faced a difficult decision narrowing it down to the 8 films that will be part of the residency, which takes place March 11-15th in North Adams, MA. Of the many amazing entries we selected those projects that we believe have the greatest potential to benefit from a collaborative workshop focused on creating intentional and strategic…
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