Can Documentaries Change the World? Exploring the Social Impact of Nonfiction Film
Sunday, February 12th at 4:00pm
UnionDocs Center for Documentary Arts
322 Union Ave, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Join filmmaker and activist Judith Helfand (A Healthy Baby Girl; Blue Vinyl; Everything's Cool; Cooked), and philanthropist and filmmaker Abigail Disney (Pray the Devil Back to Hell; Women, War & Peace) in conversation with Film Sprout's Caitlin Boyle, as they explore the promise and potential of documentary to effect social change.
Nonfiction filmmaking has long been understood to inspire and educate audiences. But can documentary change the world? This public seminar explores the ways we conceive, fund, execute and measure the impact of social-issue documentary films. What makes a film a social-issue project? What separates the filmmaker from the activist--and the activist from the filmmaker? What are the economics behind films that seek not only to be seen, but to mobilize audiences for social action? And how can we evaluate their success? Take part in this lively and dynamic session to probe questions ranging from the philosophical to the practical--and to pose your own to two women at the forefront of the field.
Abigail E. Disney is a filmmaker and philanthropist whose longtime passion for women’s issues and peacebuilding culminated in her first film, Pray the Devil Back to Hell, about the Liberian women who peacefully ended their country’s fourteen-year civil war. She is currently Executive Producer of the groundbreaking PBS mini-series Women, War & Peace, the most comprehensive global media initiative ever mounted on the role of women in peace and conflict. Along with her husband, Pierre Hauser, Abigail co-founded the Daphne Foundation, which works with low-income communities in the five boroughs of New York City.
Judith Helfand is a filmmaker, activist and teacher best known for balancing humor and horror in A HEALTHY BABY GIRL (winner of the George Foster Peabody Award), BLUE VINYL, EVERYTHING’S COOL and COOKED. Committed to mentorship and the power of non-fiction media to catalyze social change, she co-founded Working Films and Chicken & Egg Pictures.
Caitlin Boyle is the founder and president of Film Sprout, a grassroots and community distribution firm that broadens the audience and social impact of documentaries through public screening events. She is the architect of national screening and audience outreach initiatives for dozens of feature documentaries, including King Corn, Pray the Devil Back to Hell, The End of the Line, A Small Act and Bag It.
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