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Several CSM board members participated in “Documentaries:
Making an Impact,” at the 25th IFP Market in New York City
on September 25, 2003.
 Board
members included host and moderator Alyce Myatt (pictured, left;
OneWorld TV), and panelists Barbara Abrash (Center for Media, Culture
and History/NYU) and Gillian Caldwell (Witness). Other panelists
were Nicole Betancourt (MediaRights.org); Dee Dee Halleck (Paper
Tiger and Deep Dish TV); Peter Kinoy (Skylight Productions); and
Diane Weyermann (Sundance Institute).
They presented a range of examples of how social issue
films and videos are working across borders, platforms, and communities.
Barbara Abrash talked about tactical media, how it
has transformed traditional ideas of outreach, pointing out that
each panelist would provide concrete examples. Gillian Caldwell
described Witness's realization that simply providing cameras to
human rights activists is not enough - that skill building, thinking
through the advocacy message and intended audience, along with developing
distribution strategies (including multifaceted campaigns aimed
ultimately at producing systemic change) is essential for local
groups who want to get their stories out to the world. Like other
panelists, Caldwell emphasized the importance of engaging stake-holders
in the process of making the film, so they will have a vested interest
in giving the finished film "the life it deserves." The
work of Witness
has resulted in the change of mental health policy in Mexico and
been used as evidence in war crimes tribunals.
Peter Kinoy described his work with the Media
College of the University of the Poor, an effort that has empowered
poor people to tell their own stories. He called for more cooperation
between media professionals and activist groups, especially in a
time of scarce resources and an increasingly difficult political
atmosphere. DeeDee Halleck urged the creation of an infrastructure
to foster cooperation, and described the
history of activism that has produced media centers, public access,
community radio, satellite set-asides, and government funding such
as ITVS. Nicole Betancourt described mediarights.org's new youth
project, Youth Media
Distribution, and the several ways in which mediarights.org
helps documentary filmmakers make an impact, including a database
of social issue films, a web-based film festival, an outreach toolkit,
and newsletter. She cited the need for clear goals and partnering
with other groups from the outset of a project.
Diane Weyermann discussed Steps
for the Future, a transnational project on HIV/AIDS in Southern
Africa that included training, capacity-building, and an extensive
outreach campaign enabling people to tell their own stories to multiple
audiences -- from international festivals and television to townships
and clinics. She also pointed out how the International Documentary
section of Sundance
can provide visibility to relatively unknown films. Alyce Myatt
closed the session with an introduction to the upcoming OneWorld
TV website, which will allow filmmakers to upload and share
their stories with anyone, anywhere in the world with web access.
Through the website filmmakers are also able to connect with NGOs
to do their research, and NGOs are able to find filmmakers to help
tell the stories of the work that is occuring on the ground.
Overall, this panel demonstrated that "impact"can
mean many things, and that it is important to think about many channels
and diverse audiences, and particularly the networks and infrastructure
that exists today, upon which we can continue to build.
Check
out IFP on the web.
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