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February
Newsletter
"Making
Your Documentary Matter" Workshop Resources Now Available
On
Feb. 7, the Center for Social Media hosted a day-long workshop on
audience engagement and outreach strategies. The sold-out event
featured leaders in the field, and drew together 130 filmmakers,
programmers and funders eager to exchange insights on how to make
documentaries effective both on and off the television screen.
"Thanks
for the reminder of why we make docs," said Gary Wortman of
EveryMan Productions. "You organized a compelling event with
informative panels on an important topic."
The
Center is making resources collected for that workshop available
on its website, including case studies, evaluations, and links:
http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/conf05resources.htm
Report
from the Road: Aufderheide at Sundance
This year's Sundance Film Festival featured a wide
palette of exciting new social documentaries, reports Center director
Pat Aufderheide, including the Grand Jury award winner Why We
Fight by Eugene Jarecki, and ENRON: The Smartest Guys in
the Room, by Alex Gibney (the two earlier made the theatrical
doc The Trials of Henry Kissinger). The Education of
Shelby Knox, about one teenager's political education while
fighting for sex ed in Texas public schools, was another standout.
Seasoned social documentarians Marion Lipschutz and Rose Rosenblatt
directed; Gary Griffin (who teaches in AU School of Communication's
Film and Media Arts Program) won the Sundance cinematography award.
"It's a thrill to be here," said Lipschutz. "You
dream of Sundance, and it's a heady experience. If we were first-time
filmmakers, though, we might be destroyed by all this attention
- what if you thought it was always going to be like that?"
At
the Center for Social Media's Outreach Table, filmmakers ordered
their free DVDs of Untold Stories, which
highlights the problems filmmakers have with copyright clearance.
(And DVDs are still available for the asking, at socialmedia@american.edu!)
The
staff of Docurama, a distributor of docs on DVD, brought to Sundance
a fascinating market study showing just how swiftly the popularity
of documentaries is growing. They kindly permitted the Center to
feature the report, which draws from hard-to-get proprietary data.
The report is now posted on our website, at: http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/res_distribution.html
You
can read more coverage of Sundance by Pat Aufderheide at In
These Times: http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/1907/
Filmmakers
Fixing Copyright Problems
The Center's newest report, Untold Stories: Creative Consequences
of the Rights Clearance Culture for Documentary Filmmakers,
has sparked national attention, with stories appearing in The
Washington Post, WIRED, Filmmaker, International
Documentary and an upcoming article in The Independent
among others. The research exposes the crippling effect of copyright
clearance for documentary filmmakers and for the society that needs
their stories.
Now,
the Center is undertaking with the Program on Intellectual Property
and the Public Interest in the American University law school an
ambitious next step. The organizations will coordinate the creation
of a collective statement by documentary filmmakers about their
best practices in fair use. This document will become a guide for
filmmakers and gatekeepers, and could change industry practice.
Look for the FAQ here: http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/rock/index.htm
And
you can get a copy of the video version of the report, Stories
Untold, free by emailing your request and mailing address
to: socialmedia@american.edu. This 8 minute video was designed both
for filmmakers and for classroom use.
New
Teaching Resources: Media and Social Change and Video Activism
The
Center has more syllabi to inspire teachers!
The
undergraduate course Media and Social Change, designed by Michael
Renov and Doe Mayer at USC, asks whether media can change society,
looking across borders and genre lines with a diverse theoretical
bibliography of films and literature.
Lydia
Foerster from New School University shares an undergraduate syllabus
on video activism, combining production planning with media theory
on strategically employing video in social action campaigns.
Check
out Teaching Resources: http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/res_teaching.html
Environmental Film Festival
is coming!
March
is DC Environmental Film Festival time, and the CEnter will once
again be hosting several events.
March
15
An Evening with wildlife filmmaker
Chris Palmer
Palmer discusses the goal of his filmmaking: not merely to entertain,
but to encourage action on behalf of threatened species like grizzlies,
dolphins and whales.
March
17
This Land is Your Land
Filmmakers Lori Cheatle and Daisy Wright crisscross the nation
interviewing experts and individuals about corporate influence
on American life. Preceded by selections from the Media That Matters
Film Festival.
March
19
United Nations Association Film
Festival Selections: Crapshoot, Farming the Seas and Sin Embargo
Presented once again by UNAFF founder and director Jasmina Bojic,
these selection explore waste and resource management.
Read
event details at: http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/envirofilmfest.html
Announcements
Just
Vision's Online Network for Peace is up and running
Ronit
Avni, formerly of WITNESS was a visiting filmmaker at the Center
for in 2004. Her film and project, Just Vision, has just
launched the first stage of the Online Network for Peace,
featuring portraits of the
first 16 of 180 interviews featuring Israeli and Palestinian civilians
engaged in grassroots efforts to advance peace in the region. The
site also includes an interactive timeline of the history of the
conflict through the lens of individuals committed to ending it.
Over
the coming months, Just Vision will continue to add a broad
range of in-depth, first-hand profiles of inspiring civic leaders,
along with features to learn more about, and advance their efforts.
Visit this inspiring example of combining web and video resources
for a comprehensive initiative: http://www.justvision.org
INPUT
2005 Registration Ongoing
Registration
for INPUT 2005 is well underway-don't miss the opportunity to meet
your independent producer friends and public media colleagues from
around the world! Held for the first time in San Francisco, this
unique conference offers screenings of the best public media programs,
panels, workshops and special events, showcasing the most creative,
important and
provocative independent and public programming today. Register online
at the INPUT website, and find hotel deals to make your stay in
San Francisco a good one!
http://www.input2005.org/registration
INPUT
2005 Conference Registration: US$65
* Sunday, May 1 - Friday, May 6
* Includes all INPUT 2005 Screenings: 80-100 hours of the most
innovative
programs produced for public television from around the world
* Evening Panels and Special Board Sessions
* Opening Night Reception at the Hilton San Francisco Grand Ballroom
* Video-On-Demand screening facilities for all conference films
* Cyber Cafe-free online access
* INPUT 2005 Book and Delegate Bag
INPUT
Pre-Party: US$10
* Saturday, April 30 from 9pm-11pm
* Held at Pena Pachamama Restaurant in North Beach, San Francisco
* Hosted by Forest Creatures Entertainment, the Association of
Independent Video and Filmmakers and Film Arts Foundation
INPUT
Mid-Week Dinner Reception & Party: US$35
* Wednesday, May 4 from 7pm-11pm
* Held at San Francisco's elegant and historic City Hall
* Includes dinner reception and live entertainment
Preliminary
conference schedule is now available online
http://www.input2005.org/schedule
Visa
information for international travelers
http://www.input2005.org/travel/visa.html
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