A border and barbeque aren’t the only things Virginia and North Carolina have in common. The two states also have some of the most gerrymandered districts in the country. Cozy relationships between regulators and industry are another commonality. A new film called Democracy for Sale featuring NC native and comedian Zach Galifianakis puts a spotlight on the ways big money political interests have influenced the drawing of district lines and led to a lack of environmental protection and tax cuts for the upper class and corporations, education cuts, gerrymandering, and laws…
What will you do when the lights come up? One of our earliest taglines and our charge from day one is now ubiquitous in the field of documentary for change. And over the last eighteen years, we’ve remained committed to answering this question in ways that are meaningful for documentary film audiences and that serve the broader movements for social and environmental justice. We’ve changed a lot over the years. We’ve taken big risks, we’ve failed forward, and we’ve followed our hearts. We have been privileged to work with many…
Lindy Lou, a woman from rural Mississippi, always thought she could easily give the death penalty. Then she sat on a jury that handed down a capital punishment sentence to a man convicted in a double homicide. Twenty years later, in the new documentary film Lindy Lou, Juror Number 2, Lindy travels through Mississippi and interviews 11 jurors alongside whom she sentenced a man to death. This film challenges the sense that many Missourians have – that the death penalty is an abstract, distant concept unlikely to personally affect us.…
What’s the prospect of a region built on cod having no cod left to fish? Beginning August 23rd the Camden International Film Festival and Working Films are partnering with the Down to Earth Storytelling Project, The Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, and many local organizations to launch a screening tour of Sacred Cod along the eastern seaboard of Maine to find out. The film focuses on the collapse of the historic cod population throughout New England, delving into the role of overfishing, impact of climate change, the effect of government policies placed on fishermen.…
We’re thrilled to announce five extraordinary new members who have joined the ranks of Working Films’ Board of Directors! CATY BORUM CHATOO Caty Borum Chattoo is Director of the Center for Media & Social Impact (CMSI), an innovation lab and research center at American University that creates, showcases, and studies media designed for social change; and Executive in Residence at the American University School of Communication in Washington, D.C. She is an award-winning communication strategist and documentary film/TV producer working at the intersection of social-change communication, research, documentary, and entertainment…
The term gerrymander was coined in 1812, when a Massachusetts district was drastically redrawn in a way that resembled a salamander. Governor Elbridge Gerry manipulated the district lines to give his party an unfair advantage. Hence, the term gerry-mander. North Carolina is one of the most gerrymandered states in the nation. The voting districts look more like paint splatters or perhaps a salamander after a visit to Chernobyl. According to the New York Times 2016 election results, 47% of North Carolina voters cast ballots for democratic representatives, yet the Democrats only received…
North Carolina – once a beacon of light and generosity in a sea of red state reactionary politics – is now one of the most regressive and intentionally belligerent states in the union. The new documentary Democracy for Sale featuring NC native Zach Galifianakis uncovers the role that money has played in this shift and offers a lesson for the rest of the nation. We’re thrilled to be partnering with Appalachian Voices, Democracy NC, The NC NAACP, and many others to organize more than a dozen screenings across North Carolina to inform…
Films are an incredible resource for translating the complex. Two new shorts break down two of the biggest policy battles surrounding the transition to renewable energy: Net Metering and Rate Design. Suncatcher In Suncatcher, Award winning director of Catching The Sun, Shalini Kantayya interviews Former California EPA Secretary Terry Tamminen. He explains net metering, one of the most important state policies impacting people who want to make the transition to clean power in their homes. Net Metering & Interconnection: Pillars of the New Energy Economy This animated piece by Catching The Sun‘s NGO partner, Vote Solar, breaks…
7 documentaries selected to screen at Facing Race 2016 Race Forward has teamed up with Working Films to present Race Flicks, the film track of Facing Race: A National Conference being held in Atlanta, GA from November 10-12, 2016. This year’s Race Flicks program will focus on creating impact with film. And the selected films were choosen in large part because of the way they have been or could be used strategically by activists, organizers, and nonprofits to advance their work for racial justice. Dozens of filmmakers applied for the…
Community-based organizations across the United States are working to build sustainable local economies, eliminate dependence on dirty energy, and create resilient communities in the face of climate change and economic inequality. The Beloved Community Center is one of them. Based in Greensboro, NC since 1991, the Beloved Community Center is working for a social and economic system that realizes the dignity, worth and potential of every person. This Saturday, we’ll join them at the Peoples Power Party. The gathering will showcase bottom-up solutions to the challenges of environmental racism and…
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