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| From The Fledgling Fund |
We have had a busy and exciting June. As many of you may know, The Fledgling Fund has announced its latest group of grantees and as you will see from the July e-newsletter, many are poised to play an important role in critical national debates about immigration, our food system, environmental justice issues, and global human rights.
Each project's individual engagement campaign will be very different but reflect the needs of the issue it is addressing and the NGOs that are working for social change. We continue to be amazed by the number of very strategic proposals that we receive; in many ways they reflect the development of the social issue documentary field. Filmmakers continue to do what they do best - bring us compelling and moving stories. But, many are also beginning to work with NGOs and other stakeholders earlier in the process so that they can place their film into the larger narrative of the movement. That is not to say that they lose control of their film or story, but it does mean that they tap into the expertise of advocates who understand the different sides of a particular issue, the opportunities for social change and the potential obstacles in the way.
This approach was on display last week at The Good Pitch at Silverdocs. Despite the fact that both England and the U.S. were participating in key World Cup games when the day began, there was a full house with funders, filmmakers, NGOs, broadcasters and other industry representatives all present to watch eight projects pitch to tables of carefully selected stakeholders. Click here for a complete list of the projects represented. The most attractive projects to me were those with compelling characters and interesting and complex story arcs. There were several offers of financial support that will have an immediate impact, allowing several filmmakers to move forward with filming this summer. However, perhaps just as importantly, several projects received important information about the complexity of the issue they were addressing, insight on story, and offers to provide ongoing guidance or connect them with others who could assist them as they move their project from production to audience engagement. Clearly, this very public forum with all its energy is just the first step in a long process of relationship building and project development. It is likely that some of these relationships may prove to be less useful over time, while others will emerge as critical to the project. All will require work to cultivate mutually beneficial relationships that respect the needs and expertise of all parties. What is exciting to me is that these relationships - whether initiated at the Good Pitch or in another forum -can help lay the foundation for highly strategic audience engagement campaigns that maximize the social impact of truly amazing nonfiction stories.
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