FUNDERS

In the documentary ecosystem, what does funder accountability look like? And how can those supporting film gain assurance that, as filmmakers tell their own and others’ stories, they are doing so in transparent, consensual and authentic relationship with the people featured on screen?

In this latest episode of the StoryShift video series, Shaady Salehi (Director, Trust-Based Philanthropy Project), F. Javier Torres-Campos (Director of Thriving Cultures, Surdna Foundation), and Lauren Pabst (Senior Program Officer, MacArthur Foundation) sat down with us to reflect on these questions; addressing how we can shift power dynamics and funding practices to prioritize accountability.

Director & Producer: Natalie Bullock Brown

Producer: Working Films

Editor: Eric Barstow

Directors of Photography: Cam Be, Vatsala Goel, and Yessica Curiel-Montoya 

Sound: Allison Walsh, Emily Strong, and Marshall Potter

Gaffers: Estrella Vargas and Xavier Gomez 

Production Assistants: Khalid Riley, Lucia Agajanian, Marie O’Connell, and Matt Breetzky 

With On-Set Support from: Elise Schierbeek

Photo Credits:

A scene from Always in Season, Andres “Jay” Molina, Ashley O’Shay, Ben-Alex Dupris, Bing Liu, Byron Hurt, F. Javier Torres, Jalena Keane-Lee, Lana Garland, Lauren Pabst, Nanfu Wang, 

Film excerpt credits: 

Not a Citizen, directed by Daniel Quintanilla, animation by Hanji Chang; Razing Liberty Square, directed by Katja Esson, produced by Ann Bennet and Ronald Baez; Santuario, directed and produced by Christine Delp and Pilar Timpane; The Dream Ride, directed by Konrad Aderer; The Legacy of the Zero Tolerance Policy directed by Almudena Toral; The Sacrifice Zone, directed and produced by Julie Winokur; We Still Here, directed and produced by Eli Jacobs Fantauzzi.