LATEST NEWS

Working Films and The Fledgling Fund in partnership with the Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC) just wrapped our second Reel Change: Managing Social Issue Film Campaigns workshop in San Francisco. Launched in New York City last December, this series of trainings is open to the field and intended to give individuals the skills to lead creative engagement campaigns for social issue documentary films and related media projects. We brought together a stellar group of filmmakers, community organizers, and experts in the field of audience engagement. Led by Molly Murphy and Judith Helfand of Working Films and Emily Verellen of The Fledgling Fund, guest instructors included Gillian Caldwell, former director of 1Sky and WITNESS; Sonya Childress, Community Engagement Specialist at Firelight Media; Jen Gilomen, Director of Public Media Strategies at Bay Area Video Coalition; Andy Moore, Distribution Coordinator at Patchworks Films; Jim Miller, Executive Director at Brave New Foundation; and Shaady Salehi, Deputy Director at Active Voice.

Out of 23 participant evaluations, every single one said they recommend this workshop to others. Some of the rave feedback we’ve received from attendees include:

• I have deepened my understanding of both the theory and practice of creating community engagement campaigns. • I gained important new relationships and connections. • I’m motivated and excited to push forward with tangible ideas and strategies for my engagement efforts. This was a great environment for sharing. • I loved meeting the other participants. I now have a sense of purpose and vision! • I am feeling excited, pumped, and inspired that I’m not the only one doing this work and it can be done! • Thank you for sharing your knowledge, for your commitment to social change, for your energy, and your patience! • It has been invaluable & comes at the perfect time for me. You hit so many issues we are wrestling with. Thanks!!! • This is a wonderful opportunity for filmmakers and I greatly appreciate all the thought and work presented to us.

Stay tuned for information about our next Reel Change training, expected to take place on the East Coast in early 2012.

Reel Change participants included: Ada McMahon, Agi Orsi, Andrew Lowenthal, Carol Duffy Clay , Cary McQueen Morrow, Chelo Alvarez-Stehle, Chelsea Matter, Chuck Schultz, Danielle Beverly , Emily Davis, Hadley Dynak, Hannah Rosenzweig, Janis Astor del Valle, Jenne Turner, Judy Branfman, Kate Trumbull, Kathryn Pyle, Kimberly Bautista, Leah Warshawski, Luis Argueta, Nancy Kelly, Nicole Karsin, Patricia Benabe, Rachel Antell, Shannon Carroll, Sheila E. Schroeder, Tricia Creason-Valencia, Wen Lee, Win-Sie Tow

On Saturday, November 12, Working Films is hosting a celebration of two films that are part of the line up in the hip local indie film fest Cucalorus.

Rachel Libert and Tony Hardmon’s SEMPER FI: ALWAYS FAITHFUL is an award-winning film that tells a story of particular urgency for NC. Master Sgt. Jerry Ensminger devoted 25 years of service to the U.S. Marines, whose motto, “Semper Fidelis,” means “Always Faithful.” When stationed at Camp Lejeune, his 9-year-old daughter died from a rare form of leukemia and Ensminger wants to know why. His exhaustive search for answers leads him to a shocking discovery: the very organization that was supposed to protect its own – the Marine Corps – has been covering up one of the worst cases of toxic water contamination in US history. Demonstrating remarkable dedication and perseverance, Ensminger spearheads a lengthy battle to hold the Marine Corps accountable for its actions and make this information public. Semper Fi won Best Editing Award at the Tribeca Film Festival and Best Documentary and Audience Award at the Woodstock Film Festival. Working Films is partnering with Semper Fi on NC screenings, including its first “non-festival” premiere in Jacksonville, home of Camp Lejeune, immediately following the Cucalorus screening. We are developing and coordinating a national community engagement campaign with the film in 2012. Presented as a work-in-progress at Cucalorus, AN AMERICAN PROMISE follows the education of two African American boys. Co-directed by Michele Stephenson and Joe Brewster, the film documents their son, Idris, and his best friend Seun, from the time they are accepted to the Dalton School in New York City, as part of a diversity program. Both families are eager for their sons to get “the best education possible.” Following both boys from kindergarten through their divergent paths to high school graduation in 2012 the film reveals a complex picture of racial identity, education, privilege, and parenting in this groundbreaking personal verité film. An American Promise is part of Reel Education, Working Films’ collaborative initiative between filmmakers, non-profits, and educators that embeds a collection of powerful documentaries into the work of those leading the charge for education reform. Festival pass holders, board members, and filmmakers are invited to join us Saturday, November 12, 6pm – 8pm, at the Working Films firehouse on Castle Street and Fifth Avenue. Buy a Cucalorus pass here.

“This was about keeping hope alive – the past is not who we are.”

“This event allowed us to see successful strategies (from other cities) that can translate to our own community.”

“I feel confident our community can change and make strength in diversity a reality.”

These were just a few out of 180 positive comments from over 200+ audience members at the Reimagining the Region: Building a New Detroit Metropolis forum, centered around Andrea Torrice’s documentary series The New Metropolis, hosted at the Emagine Royal Oak Theater on September 15. "Detroit has been deteriorating for over 40 years because of disinvestment," said Ponsella Hardaway, Executive Director of Metropolitan Organizing Strategy Enabling Strength (MOSES), one of the sponsors of the event. "The suburbs had been secure, but over the last 15 years they’ve been experiencing the same decline as the urban core. There's also been a lot of competition between municipalities. I hope this event starts to break down the barriers so that all communities, suburban and urban, can cooperate rather then compete. But the question is: how do we cooperate? This event gives community leaders the opportunity to come together and discuss how to do this." Award-winning filmmaker Andrea Torrice launched the evening dialogue with some clips from her recent documentary, The New Metropolis, which highlights issues facing America's first suburbs to examine U.S. land use and transportation policy. "The film series is called The New Metropolis because old policies which separated cities and suburbs are no longer in our economic self-interest," said Torrice. "We need a new vision for our regions in the future." Stephen Henderson, an editor for the Detroit Free Press and host of Detroit Public Television's American Black Journal moderated a panel discussion and dialogue with the audience, which was filmed and streamed live by Detroit Public TV. (Watch the event via streaming video on The New Metropolis website here.) "Detroit is the home of the original idea of the suburbs. The highway system here, which is more complex and over-developed than any place in the country, made it possible since the 1950s for people to leave the city. So, we have more decaying infrastructure, especially in the inner-ring suburbs because they’re older," said Henderson. Conan Smith, Executive Director of the Michigan Suburbs Alliance, which also co-sponsored the event, said, "Suburban communities were created to drive segregation in the '40s, '50s, and '60s. These films (The New Metropolis) speak about strategies to overcome important stuff for us. Overcoming segregation to realize its promise, as seen in The New Metropolis framework – that is the hope of this experience." The forum was co-sponsored by Detroit Public Television, Metropolitan Organizing Strategy Enabling Strength (MOSES), Michigan Suburbs Alliance, Michigan Department of Civil Rights, Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion, Model D Media, Working Films, and Torrice Productions. 108 evaluations were collected from the audience, when asked if they believed the Forum highlighted critical issues facing Detroit and the surrounding region, 99 said they agreed or strongly agreed. 101 said they thought the films highlighted stories that will be use in developing strategies in Detroit. 83 audience members said they are feeling more positive about finding new strategies to work together. The sponsors and organizers are now putting into action many of the suggestions for follow up by the audience, including opportunities for future screenings hosted by partnerships of local organizations as well as a listserv that will allow us to stay connected to the attendees – 160+ of whom shared their contact information. Nineteen different organizations immediately committed to hosting additional screenings, from churches and synagogues to inner city youth groups to district libraries to Eastern Michigan University. This event was part of The New Metropolis civic engagement dialogue series taking place across the country on revitalizing America’s older communities and is made possible through the support of the Ford and Surdna Foundations. Working Films co-organized two strategy summits for this Detroit event, bringing together local community stakeholders to secure their input and commitment. Robert West, Working Films’ co-founder and Executive Director, said, “This forum was a model of how to use a documentary series as a catalyst for authentic change. Community stakeholders were involved with our planning process six months prior to this event, and stayed focused on local challenges and concrete outcomes. One comment from an audience member seemed to sum up the extraordinarily positive energy at the conclusion of the event: collaboration, unity, community.

We’d like to congratulate the teams behind Gasland, Good Fortune and Freedom Riders on their Emmy Awards!

Good Fortune co-director Jeremy Levine was a former Working Films fellow.

Josh Fox of Gasland is a part of our Reel Power initiative.

Many other film projects we've worked with or that participated in our residencies were also nominated: Monica & David (Ali Codina), Off and Running (Nicole Opper), Wo Ai Ni (I Love You) Mommy (Stephanie Wang-Breal), Deep Down (Jen Gilomen & Sally Rubin), and A Village Called Versailles (S. Leo Chiang). Congrats to all!

Over the past few months, four students from Isaac Bear Early College High School have been working on a 20 minute documentary addressing climate change and the impact is has to our coastal community in Wilmington, NC. Their film We Sea Change: A Student Perspective on Climate and a Changing World will premiere at the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher on Wednesday, September 28th 2011 at 6:30pm. A panel discussion will follow the screening and organizations from around the region will host educational booths for audience members. Cape Fear Student Summit Video from Cape Fear Student Summit on Vimeo.

“The generation that fought hardest to come out is going back in to survive”

Gen Silent is a critically-acclaimed documentary from filmmaker Stu Maddux that explores the challenges of six LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi, trans) seniors who face the difficult choice of hiding their friends, their spouses and their entire lives in order to survive in the health care system. For Family Fest 2011 the Frank Harr Foundation will open the event with a meet & greet reception for Gen Silent director, Stu Maddux, on Thursday, September 29, 2011, at 7 pm. Local film organization Working Films will host the meet & greet at the firehouse at 602 S. 5th Avenue, Wilmington, N.C. on the corner of Castle St. The reception is free and open to the public with catering provided by Front Street Brewery. Filmmakers and media creators interested in learning how to use their projects to promote social change are encouraged to attend. Stu will discuss how he is using his film to encourage more hospices and service agencies to address the specific needs of LGBT elders. The 63-minute film will screen for free the following day, Friday, September 30, 2011, at 3 pm at UNCW’s Warwick Center. There will be a Health Fair starting at 12:30 pm that will include vendors serving the LGBT community, seminars focusing on legal issues facing LGBT individuals and couples, and LGBT sensitivity training for healthcare providers. The South East Area Health Education Center (SEAHEC) will sponsor four hours of continuing-education credits for nursing professionals for $15, payable at the door. Following the screening will be a panel discussion about the movie and the realities faced today by LGBT individuals and couples in the healthcare system. Panelists include Stu Maddux, Gillian O'Reilly (MSW from Lower Cape Fear Hospice & Life Care Center), Rev. John McLaughlin (St. Jude's Metropolitan Community Church), Connie Vetter (attorney), Eleanor Covan, Ph.D. (UNCW Gerontology) and Scott French (SAGE: Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders). This is a free event. Major sponsors of Family Fest 2011 include Lower Cape Fear Hospice & Life Care Center; UNCW LGBTQIA Resource Office; SEAHEC; Virginia Hager, attorney at law; Connie Vetter, attorney at law; St. Jude's Metropolitan Community Church; Level 5 at City Stage; Hampton Inns of Wilmington; and the Frank Harr Foundation.

"Detroit has been deteriorating for over 40 years because of disinvestment," said Ponsella Hardaway, Executive Director of Metropolitan Organizing Strategy Enabling Strength (MOSES), one of the sponsors of “Reimagining the Region: Building a New Metropolis”. A screening of The New Metropolis and a community dialogue about the film and its relevance to the region will take place at the Emagine Royal Oak Theater on Thursday, Sept. 15 from 7 – 9 p.m. A light dinner precedes the event at 6:00. The forum is free and open to the public. The event will be streamed live on The New Metropolis website. “Reimagining the Region: Building a New Metropolis” will bring together policy makers and community members to discuss strategies for urban and suburban revitalization in the Detroit area. The event will be moderated by Stephen Henderson, Editorial Page Editor of the Detroit Free Press and Host of WTVS’ American Black Journal. Joining Henderson will be a panel of state and local public officials, community leaders, and John Powell, Executive Director of the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at Ohio State University. It is co-sponsored by Detroit Public Television, Metropolitan Organizing Strategy Enabling Strength (MOSES), Michigan Suburbs Alliance, Michigan Department of Civil Rights, Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion, Model D Media, Working Films, and Torrice Productions. Award-winning documentary filmmaker Andrea Torrice will present the film and join the community discussion. "I hope The New Metropolis helps inspire people to move beyond talking to taking concrete action in the Detroit region,” said Torrice. This event is part of The New Metropolis civic engagement dialogue series taking place across the country on revitalizing America's older communities and is made possible through the support of the Ford and Surdna Foundations. Working Films co-organized two strategy summits for this Detroit event, bringing together local community stakeholders to secure their input and commitment.

When I was in Detroit over the summer for the Allied Media Conference, I attended a workshop presented by Evan Casper-Futterman, Co-Producer of the film Land of Opportunity. He explained how the film is using Mozilla Foundation’s WebMadeMovies initiative to create an interactive web campaign. Afterwards, I caught up with Evan to find out a bit more about how the interactive videos work and supplement the film. Here’s what he had to say: A key component of the Land of Opportunity documentary project is the production and distribution of interactive web-based videos designed to engage and educate viewers on core urban issues of affordable housing, urban redevelopment/planning, (im)migration and economic displacement. We are building an open-source interactive web player for our video content that provides access to an ever-expanding content-rich environment that amplifies and contextualizes the storylines and issues we explore. The goal is to create a multi-dimensional story space that will increase engagement and inspire action. The interactive nature of these webisodes will allow users to relate the stories of post-Katrina New Orleans to what is happening in their own backyards. We have partnered with the prestigious Mozilla Foundation’s WebMadeMovies initiative to create the Land of Opportunity interactive web player. As they watch a video, users will be presented with "triggers" that appear during key moments. These triggers will enable users to access additional content drawn from a curated “knowledge-base” organized by the filmmakers in conjunction with educational, community and data partners. This additional content will feature video, audio, data, stills, articles, maps, diagrams, scholarly essays, online action campaigns and so forth. While watching the webisodes, users will also be prompted to provide information about themselves (i.e. zip code, age-range, income range etc.) and will then access targeted data that relates the themes and issues in the video content to what’s happening in their own towns and cities (i.e. number of blighted homes in their neighborhood, immigrants rights campaigns in their community, urban planning initiatives in their city etc). In addition, the triggers will allow users to see the latest news and what people are saying in real time about the issues on Google, Facebook and Twitter, etc. Eventually users will also be able to record and upload their own content and triggers. This interface creates a holistic viewing experience that transcends the current limitations of viewing video on the web. It also furthers our goal of inspiring dialogue and analysis that connects the dots between the interrelated core urban issues presented in Land of Opportunity. For students and researchers, the player will be akin to having a dynamic streaming bibliography—video and text can now be used in tandem, rather than as separate resources. All our additional content will be created and organized in collaboration with community, educational and data partners to maximize engagement and impact around our core urban issues. We are currently building a robust demo of the player, which we will use to attract additional funding and strategic partners. The demo will be completed in late September. We then plan to build and launch the player in three phases in 2012 in conjunction with three webisodes each highlighting a core urban issue covered in the feature film: affordable housing, urban planning/redevelopment, and immigration. Each webisode will be launched with an additional level of functionality, which will initially be piloted in six target cities, including New Orleans, Detroit and Atlanta. Our first websiode--a two part piece on affordable housing in New Orleans, Atlanta, and DC, will utilize a prototype of the player and will be released in conjunction with the National Black Programming Consortium and our strategic local and national partners in early 2012 . While developing this player, we will continue to schedule screenings of the feature film Land of Opportunity. Anyone interested in any aspect of our project should check out our website, Facebook page, and Twitter.