The Good Pitch San Francisco starts off with an intensive two-day campaign development workshop led by Working Films for the selected filmmakers September 24-25. A day-long event on September 27 will bring together the filmmakers with NGOs, foundations, philanthropists, brands and other stakeholders to forge coalitions and campaigns that are good for all these allies, good for the films and good for the world.
Below are descriptions of the six selected projects and their award-winning directors:
American Village (Dir. Mary Posatko, Emily Topper)
1972: a father of thirteen is murdered in Baltimore, Maryland. Three boys are arrested, represented by a famous civil rights attorney, and acquitted. Traumatized and confused, the victim’s family flees, and never looks back. Now, amidst a family crisis, his granddaughter returns – to uncover the era’s brutal history, meet the men involved, and begin to heal her family.
Gardens of Paradise (Dir. Bernardo Ruiz)
A veteran reporter and his colleagues at an embattled news weekly challenge the drug cartels and corrupt local officials during a wave of unprecedented violence against journalists in Mexico.
God Loves Uganda (Dir. Roger Ross Williams )
In a journey that spans two continents, African-American director Roger Williams, son of a Baptist minister, explores the nature of belief – in America, where congregants search for spiritual meaning, and in Uganda, where American missionaries and Ugandan evangelicals struggle for the hearts and souls of a people facing dire poverty and tumultuous social change.
How To Survive A Plague (Dir. David France)
Using never-before-seen archival footage, How to Survive a Plague is the intense story of how AIDS stopped being a death sentence, and the improbable group of young HIV-positive activists who, though lacking scientific training, infiltrated the pharmaceutical industry to help develop effective, breakthrough medications. They saved millions of lives – including many, though not all, of their own.
The Invisible War (Dir. Kirby Dick)
The Invisible War is an investigative and powerfully emotional documentary about the epidemic of rape within the US military, the institutions that perpetuate and cover up its existence, and its profound personal and social consequences.
Turkey Creek (Dir. Leah Mahan)
Turkey Creek tells the story of a group of determined Mississippians who struggle to save their endangered Gulf Coast community in the face of rampant development, industrial pollution and disaster. Bridge the Gulf is a citizen journalism and new media initiative designed to help the Gulf Coast’s most marginalized communities convey their stories and their vision for the future.
The Good Pitch was created by Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation, in partnership with the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program. Support for The Good Pitch comes from Chicken & Egg Pictures, The Fledgling Fund, Ford Foundation, Impact Partners, Wyncote Foundation, CrossCurrents Foundation, Amnesty International and anonymous donors. Campaign support for filmmakers is provided by Working Films.
