LATEST NEWS

As many of you already know, I recently had surgery to remove a tumor from my left temporal lobe. Many thanks for the outpouring of support and concern as I faced this surgery. Here’s what we now know: The cancer I have is called Glioblastomo Multiforme (GBM). I know this may be shocking news. However, my present health is good. I have had a strong recovery from the surgery itself. I’m getting better and stronger every day. Although I am on a medical leave from the surgery, I am staying on as the Executive Director of Working Films and know that together with our amazing board, Co-Founder Judith Helfand, Deputy Directors Molly Murphy and Anna Lee, and our wonderful and dedicated team here at the firehouse and in other cities, we will continue to keep the organization strong, smart and strategic. That said, I am not in the office day to day and am not checking my Working Films email. If you have work related inquiries, please contact Anna Lee, alee@workingfilms.org 910-342-9000. You will continue to see updates on my health at the Caring Bridge site. I am going through the messages there, but taking it slow. So far I have been incredibly moved and touched by your lovely notes. The biggest strengths of this organization have been our commitments to collaboration and building community. I have never felt the gift of those partnerships more than in the last two weeks. Best love, and be of good cheer. Robert

Working Films is happy to announce that ESoDoc is now accepting applications for their 2013 sessions. In the past, executive director Robert West and senior social media strategist Kristin Henry have participated in their workshops as trainers. ESoDoc is a great opportunity for European filmmakers, new media professionals, and NGO film practitioners to learn new ways to develop their documentary and film projects to drive social impact. At ESoDoc, participants are able to plan their project in a creative environment and learn new financing, production and distribution strategies during 3 intensive sessions. The next application deadline is January 14, 2013. The 3 sessions taking place next year will be in the Netherlands (March 2013), Norway (May 2013), and Italy (September 2013). Who Should Apply? - Intermediary and senior documentary filmmakers, authors and producers, who are willing to extend their production possibilities to new sectors, new forms and new platforms. - NGO-communication representatives and professionals from the new media sector, who are eager to learn about new forms of storytelling, about combining creative documentary with social communication and advocacy intents. read  more... Industry Partnerships The first session of ESoDoc 2013 will take place in The Hague in partnership with the Movies that Matter Festival. Movies that Matter is one of the main platforms for engaged cinema, with documentaries and movies that stir the debate about human rights, human dignity and situations where these are at stake. The partnership between ESoDoc and Movies that Matter will create new international networking opportunities for our participants. ESoDoc renewed the long-standing partnership with Documentary in Europe, which led to the joint organization of the final session of ESoDoc 2012. In 2013: ESoDoc's session - including the final public pitching - will take place along with Doc in Europe's seminars and pitching sessions, which will bring numerous commissioning editors and players from the audiovisual industry to this common event. Promoters & Partners ESoDoc 2013 is organized by ZeLIG School for Documentary, with the support of EU's MEDIA Programme, Autonomous Region Trentino Alto-Adige, BLS - Business Location Südtirol, Nederlands Filmfonds, NFB - Dutch Association of Film and Television Professionals, Movies That Matter, Documentary in Europe and with the collaboration of numerous international partners. Write to info@esodoc.eu for any further information or visit www.esodoc.eu ESoDoc - European Social Documentary c/o ZeLIG School for Documentary via Brennero 20/D 39100 Bolzano (IT) T: +39 0471 302030 F: +39 0471 977931 www.esodoc.eu <http://www.esodoc.eu> info@esodoc.eu

On September 18, I was diagnosed with a brain tumor on my left temporal lobe, the part of your brain that controls speech and communication. I am going into surgery at the New Hanover Regional Medical Center, Wilmington NC, on Monday. September 24.

For kids in our hometown of Wilmington, NC that love chess, even a summer thunderstorm couldn’t keep them from coming out to play the game in the park and watching an outdoor screening of Brooklyn Castle. Thanks to our co-hosts for the event, Cape Fear Independent Film Network, we had four big tents to keep us dry while students from local elementary and middle schools competed against one another on the chess board. The kids and their families had a great time competing before the film, and by the time we were ready to start the movie the skies had cleared. This Brooklyn Castle screening was part of our work with the Reel Education collective. We’re supporting the work of nine documentary filmmaking teams whose films are engaging educators, parents, youth, and policy makers in actions to improve the quality of education in their communities and in the nation as a whole. This screening certainly advanced the mission of the project. In addition to being a lot of fun, the screening helped make connections between organizations which will ultimately lead to more kids being exposed to chess and other high quality enrichment programs in the Wilmington community. [gallery link="file" columns="2"] The audience heard from teachers George Preiss and Doris Flowers about how the students at Noble Middle School and Pine Valley Elementary benefit from being part of their chess clubs. Then, principal Eric Irizarry and enrichment coordinator Cameron Bolish from newly reopened D.C. Virgo Preparatory Academy, a public middle school serving inner city Wilmington, talked to the crowd about how they need additional support and advisers for their fledgling chess club. Steve Morales, head of the Wilmington Chess Club, was there and willing to provide assistance to them and other schools in the area that are starting clubs. He and the other members of the club are trying to do more to support scholastic chess in Wilmington, and the Brooklyn Castle screening was a great way for him to network with folks, like the leaders from Virgo, who could use their help. Things will get more exciting on the local scholastic chess front this fall. Mr. Morales announced a sanctioned scholastic tournament that the group is hosting at nearby Wrightsville Beach in November, and that some of the kids who played chess at the screening will be participating. We also had youth from DREAMS, an amazing after-school program that serves many kids from across our school district, represented at the screening. Students from their teen council volunteered to setup at the event and got a shout out before the screening. It was a fun evening for all involved, where a sizable crowd got to see this amazing film and make connections to after-school programs in our community. We’re looking forward to doing more screenings of other Reel Education films to support efforts to improve education for all kids in our local area.

While most of our work is both national and international, Working Films has a high profile in our small coastal town of Wilmington, NC. We’re in a landmark 1912 brick firehouse and contribute to the vibrancy of local efforts, including environmental efforts and support for the LGBT community. On Friday, August 24th, Working Films hosted the 3 year anniversary of Port City TakeOver, an organization that brings together the LGBT community and our straight allies as a way to socialize and network. As take of this celebration, we invited local gay and gay-friendly organizations in Wilmington to share who they are, what they are working on, and how people can get involved in each group. Community organizations included Wilmington Pride, Wilmington Pride Youth Group, PFlag, and the Children of Pride, check out the photos here:

Last March, Working Films announced the fourteen mini-grantees for the Reel Power Film Festival, a series of documentaries that bring you stories from the frontline of our energy future. Organizations hosted Reel Power events to encourage cross-pollination of grassroots organizing strategy and to inspire their communities to leverage local resources and networks. Here are some of the exciting report backs that we’ve received from the first screenings: Frack Free Catskills is a group fighting fracking in the Hudson Valley and Catskill Communities, as well as throughout New York State. They organized a conference that brought together organizations opposing coal, gas, nuclear energy, and tar sands in order for various communities to gain strength and inspiration from each other in similar struggles. The Reel Power Film Festival (RPFF) kicked off their conference. They screened Dirty Business and hosted a panel discussion afterwards with filmmaker Peter Bull along with Donna Branham of Keeper of the Mountains, Wes Gillingham of Catskill Mountain Keeper, Manna Jo Greene of Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Paul Gallay of Riverkeeper, and Duncan Meisel of 350.org. The conversation revolved around local actions needed to resist coal and other fossil fuels. They will continue to show the films in a series in order to keep the local energy and participation high. Mass Energy Consumers Alliance is a 30-year old nonprofit organization dedicated to making energy more affordable and environmentally sustainable. The RPFF screenings of Dirty Business and Gasland engaged audiences in their work to support the development of community-based wind and solar projects, as well as their efforts to make the state coal-free. The mini-grant supported action events, including a tour of a wind turbine, voter education on energy legislation and an opportunity for audience members to sign up for green electricity. The Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition is a statewide organization that works to end mountaintop removal and other coal industry abuses. The first of their 4-part RPFF series kicked off with Gasland earlier this summer. They used the opportunity to educate the audience on public hearings scheduled to discuss the issue of surface mining. Gaining Ground Sustainability Institute of MS is a relatively new organization that provides opportunities to learn, experience first-hand, and find new ways in improving lives through sustainable choices. Gaining Ground, in partnership with the Students for Sustainable Campuses, hosted screenings of all of the Reel Power films and trailers  in conjunction with the community and university Earth Week events. Each film included a Q&A where audience members were invited to join the organization’s sustainability efforts, with several folks signing on as new members. Clean Water for NC works to promote clean, safe water and environments as well as empowered, just communities for all North Carolinians. Gasland and Split Estate were screened by CWFNC with Yadkin Riverkeeper and the Dan River Basin Association in two rural communities that are currently gaining the interest of gas companies. The local news covered their first screening where a local resident commented: “I think watching [Gasland] should be a requirement before allowing anyone to sign a lease allowing fracturing on their property. It just makes no sense to think about maybe trading a little energy now for no water forever.” Several volunteers signed up to approach local government officials in nearby towns and counties about passing resolutions against fracking and 60 people, representing most of the households present, signed up to receive weekly “Frackupdates” about state and national events, advocacy opportunities and news summaries. If you would like to catch one of the RPFF's screenings, be sure to check out the Working Films Calendar for updates. September 13th, 7 pm Dirty Business 511 West Main St, Appalachia VA 24216 Hosted by Southern Appalachian Stewards (SAMS) with a discussion and ways to get involved. September 16th, 6:30 pm Deep Down Historic Oak Hill School 140 School Street, Oak Hill, WV 25901 Hosted by Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition with a discussion and ways to get involved. September 17, 6 pm - 10 pm Reel Power Film Festival at Union College Union College Student Center 310 College St, Barbourville, KY

September 20th, 7 pm Deep Down 511 West Main St, Appalachia VA 24216 Hosted by Southern Appalachian Stewards (SAMS) with a discussion and ways to get involved.

September 28th, 7 pm Split Estate Unity by the Sea, 901 Brawner Parkway, Corpus Christi, TX 78411 Hosted by the Texas Drought Project and a Q&A with special guest Sharon Wilson, Texas Oil and Gas Accountability Project and more.

Fireworks on Independence Day start the month of July out with a bang, but for Working Films the real excitement came at the end of the month. That’s because we had the pleasure of hosting our Reel Economy residency and convening July 23-26. Supported by and presented in collaboration with Chicken and Egg Pictures and The Fledgling Fund, Reel Economy brought together six documentary projects that tell personal stories of the most pressing economic issues with a group of nonprofit organizations, foundations and other allies that are working for economic justice. The featured films in Reel Economy were American Winter, Citizen Corp, Escape Fire, Solarize This, We’re Not Broke, and Xmas Without China.

After the residency, the filmmakers and economic justice organizations met for a day of networking and strategizing about how these films can fit into the ongoing work of these allies. The diverse groups of participants included Green For All, Jobs With Justice, National Physicians Alliance, Institute for America’s Future, Moms Rising, and many others.

Leading up to the final convening day of Reel Economy we spent three days in Arlington, VA with just the filmmakers, where we enjoyed this awesome view of the Potomac:

  Aside from enjoying a change of scenery from the Wilmington office, we helped the participating film teams plan the nuts and bolts of their audience engagement strategies. While at the Reel Economy residency, filmmakers got practical advice about engagement campaigns. For example, they heard from Barbara Abrash, a Working Films board member and longtime expert in the field, about evaluation strategies.  They also had the chance to explore the new Sparkwise platform for sharing a film's impact and heard from Kickstarter’s director of film projects, Elisabeth Holm, about best practices for crowd sourcing. Much of the residency included opportunities for filmmakers to think strategically about how they want to engage organizations as long-term partners with their campaigns. All this work led to the final convening day of Reel Economy when they presented their projects to key organizations. We had a great guest instructor that joined us for the week. Steve Schnapp of United for a Fair Economy was our expert in residence and helped to ground our strategy in the needs of organizations that are at work on these critical economic and social justice issues.

Most importantly, the filmmakers were also able to learn from one another. Some films in the group, such as We’re Not Broke and Escape Fire, have been out since early 2012 and have partnerships that others could build upon. The flip side is that some of the films are still in production, but with the residency have already begun the process of engaging with partners and planning for audience engagement. That’s the beauty of these thematic residencies; it’s truly a space for folks to collaborate rather than compete, and we find that the filmmakers gain critical lessons from one another’s experiences.

Between their support for each other, Steve’s preparation from the organizing perspective, and Working Films’, the Fledgling Fund's, and Chicken & Egg Pictures constant message to the filmmakers of viewing their film as a gift and resource for the folks working on these issues, all of our work paid off on the final convening day. After hearing pitches from the filmmakers, the participating organizations suggested concrete ways they might use these films. From screenings of American Winter at gatherings of the National Association of Social Workers to creative uses of Solarize This in the upcoming campaigns of Green For All, the organizations discussed specific ways that these films could be used to advance their work. We are looking forward to launching a collaborative effort that over the next few months will feature these multiple films that will build a stronger movement for economic justice and support the work of these individual organizations.

  Interacting with thoughtful talented filmmakers and organizers is the best part of my job, and that job is made all the better when I get the chance to work with these folks on multiple projects. That’s where I find myself at this moment, engaged in another opportunity to support the work of filmmaker Dan Habib. My colleague, Molly Murphy, and I facilitated a strategy summit for Dan’s first film, Including Samuel, that resulted in the I Am Norm campaign and other collaborations between the film and educators, disability rights organizations, inclusion advocates and others. In just a couple of months, we’ll be holding a summit for Dan’s newest project, here’s more about it: Who Cares About Kelsey? documents the lives of students with emotional/behavioral challenges, and shows innovative educational approaches that help these students to succeed – while improving the overall school culture and climate. When Kelsey Carroll entered high school, she was a more likely candidate for the juvenile justice system than graduation. Diagnosed with ADHD and carrying the emotional scars of homelessness and substance abuse, as well as the actual scars of repeated self-mutilation, Kelsey was volatile, disruptive and, by her own admission, "not a nice person" to be around. During Kelsey's sophomore year, a new school leadership team implemented Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), a youth-directed planning process called RENEW and other reforms to improve the school's culture and reduce the dropout rate. This school-wide overhaul gave Kelsey a chance at a different outcome. Who Cares About Kelsey? follows Kelsey through the ups and downs of her senior year. Who Cares About Kelsey? will make viewers reconsider the "problem kids" in their own high schools and spark new conversations about an education revolution that's about empowering--not overpowering--our most emotionally and behaviorally challenged youth. In addition to the feature-length documentary Who Cares About Kelsey?, Dan’s team has created nine short documentaries that illustrate a wide range of educational issues and evidence-based practices, including Augmentative and Alternative Communication, Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, Breaking the School-to-Prison Pipeline, Universal Design for Learning, Cultural Responsiveness and more. With some early campaign planning support from Working Films and maintenance of excellent relationships with leaders in the fields, Dan and his team at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Institute on Disability have already been putting the film to work. Just a quick glance at their Facebook page will give you a sense of the many venues at which the film has screened followed by powerful conversations with Dan, inclusion advocates, and the film’s main character Kelsey Carroll. We’re excited to build on to the work that they’ve already been doing with the film and to hear how this film will be used in the future from the organizations that are leading the charge on these issues. We’ll have another update after the summit, but in the meantime please check out the Who Cares About Kelsey? Project on facebook or purchase an educational package (including the full length film, mini-films and education materials) from the UNH website. You can also make sure that their engagement work continues to happen by supporting their Kickstarter campaign.