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Institute for Strategic Communication for Nonprofits

Centers, Institutes & Programs >> Institute for Strategic Communication for Nonprofits

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Quicklinks: Rapporteur's Report * Workshop Schedule * Workshop Participants (Nonprofit Organizations; Filmmakers; Philanthropic Organizations; Media/Distribution; Academic)

Filmanthropy Workshop

On Saturday, June 16, in partnership with The Institute for Strategic Communication for Nonprofits, SILVERDOCS presented “Filmanthropy: Facilitating Creative and Strategic Partnerships.” This day-long workshop connected filmmakers with leaders in the nonprofit world seeking to utilize media to achieve their goals. Funders who enable the development, production and distribution of social media also participated in the event. The workshop was the culminating event of SILVERDOCS, which ran from June 12-17, 2007 at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, MD. Click here for the Rappateur's Report on the workshop.

What is Filmanthropy?
Filmanthropy is more than a buzzword. It is at the center of an ongoing international discussion of how to engage the public in civil discourse. In an entertainment-driven society, how best can the media be used to encourage audiences to engage in civic discourse and become more socially responsible citizens? Profit pressures render corporate media increasingly reticent to taking the risk of treating difficult issues in a substantive way. Are non-profit advocacy groups or philanthropists the new best source for media funding?

Increasingly, social-issue documentaries involve complex strategic marketing and outreach campaigns, which include non-profit partners, Web sites featuring streaming media, robust ancillary resource sections and links to social networking sites, as well as public events. Recent examples of Filmanthropy include the Academy Award–winning documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, which Participant Productions rolled out across the country with a public awareness campaign and invited viewers to get directly involved in the fight against global warming. The Sierra Club, Amnesty International, CARE and WITNESS have all been deeply involved in either funding long-form storytelling or using audiovisual media to get out their message.

In short, Filmanthropy is not simply a catchphrase but an idea that promises to generate significant interest from academia, industry, and all forms of national and international media.

Workshop Schedule

Saturday, June 16

9:00 a.m.
Networking Breakfast

10:00 a.m.

Opening Remarks

  • Patricia Finneran, SILVERDOCS Festival Director
  • Larry Kirkman, Dean of American University's School of Communication
  • Carrie Passmore, Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Social Responsibility, Discovery Communication
  • John Schreiber, Executive Vice President, Social Action and Advocacy, Participant Productions
10:15am

Group Discussion
Moderated by Jackie Judd, Vice President and Senior Advisor for Communications, Kaiser Family Foundation

Topics Included:

  • What's New? Is this a pivotal moment? Documentary films have long been associated with social issues – What is different about the new activist filmmaking? What are the innovations in interactivity, participatory media? How do they impact audience outreach and engagement?
  • Partnerships: What is the spectrum of relationships for filmmakers: independent, commissioned work, hybrid partnerships? How do media makers inform audiences about their relationships with nonprofits?
  • Storytelling: What are best practices for telling and selling the hard stories? Message vs. Story: The challenge for filmmakers and the challenge for nonprofits
  • Impact: How is impact defined within the context of documentary and public engagement? How can filmmakers use alliances with membership organizations to drive audiences to their films, to provide links to information and action?
  • Funding: What are the key sources for funding documentaries? Commercial, foundations, social marketing?

Speakers Included:
12:00pm

Round Table Discussions

Table Topics Included:

  • Environment/Wildlife/Conservation
  • Global Health/Health
  • Human Rights/Social Justice
  • Children/Family/Education
  • Arts/Culture
1:15 p.m.
Networking Buffet Luncheon (Roundtable Discussions Continued)
2:30 p.m.
 Workshop Wrap-Up (Roundtable Reports/Notes for the Future)
3:30 p.m.
End of Workshop

Workshop Participants

Participants from Nonprofit Organizations Included:
  • Ellen Schneider, Active Voice
  • Gillian Caldwell, WITNESS
  • Anne Dickerson, 15 minutes Production
  • Anugraha Palan, Women’s Edge
  • Beverly Schwartz, Ashoka
  • Emily Sollie, Lutheran World Relief
  • Emira Woods, Foreign Policy in Focus, Institute for Policy Studies
  • Mari Kuraishi, Global Giving
  • Natalie Halpern, AED
  • Kim Hirose, National Wildlife Fund
  • Kathy Milani, Humane Society of the U.S.
  • Valerie Schrock, Citizens for Global Solutions
  • Mary Mulvihill, Center for Civil Society and Governance, AED
  • Julie Lofton, ACE: Animal Content in Entertainment
  • Marie-France Cote, Greenmedia, Project Greencode
  • Scott Thigpen, CARE
  • Mike Litz, OneWorld.net

Participating Filmmakers Included:

  • Tom Lennon, Producer THE BLOOD OF YINGZHAO DISTRICT
  • Cynthia Moses, International Conservation and Education Fund
  • Katy Chevigny, Arts Engine/Media Rights
  • Esther Robinson, Director, A WALK INTO THE SEA: DANNY WILLIAMS & THE WARHOL FACTORY
  • Peter Wintonick, Necessary Illusions
  • Jess Feast, The Gibson Group Limited, New Zealand

Participants from the Philanthropic Community Included:

  • John Bracken, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
  • Dan Cogan, Social Media Funding Consortia

Participating Media/Distribution Partners Included:

  • Kim Spencer/Neil Sieling, Link TV
  • John Schreiber, Participant Productions
  • Linda Lawrence, Open Media Network
  • Carrie Passmore, Discovery Communications

Participants from the Academic Community Included:

  • Larry Kirkman, Dean, American University School of Communications
  • Patricia Finneran, Festival Director, SILVERDOCS
  • Chris Palmer, Center for Environmental Filmmaking
  • Dotty Lynch, Professor, American University’s School of Communication
  • Brigid Maher, Professor, American University’s School of Communication
  • Leena Jayaswal, Professor, American University’s School of Communication
  • Pat Aufderheide, Professor and Director, Center for Social Media, American University’s School of Communication
  • Bettina Fisher, American University’s School of Communication