On Wednesday, March 9th Impact Arts + Film Fund screened the documentary BAG IT in the US Capitol, co-presented by the Plastic Pollution Coalition, Environmental Working Group and the Environmental Film Festival. Policy-makers and activists turned out for the film showcasing the perils of plastics, as well as remarks by Representatives Jim Moran (D-VA), Jared Polis (D-CO) and Steve Cohen (D-TN). Guests were greeted by the "Bag Monster" a costume composed of the 500 bags that an average consumer uses in a year, many of which end up in the Pacific gyre. After the film, Director Suzan Beraza was joined by Julia Cohen, Plastic Pollution Coalition, Heather White, Environmental Working Group for a discussion on their campaigns to eradicate disposable plastic use and educate consumers on plastic toxicity. To learn more go to www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org or www.ewg.org. The hill screening followed an Environmental Film Festival day-time showcase for 1,500 DC area students at the Warner Theater, kicking off the festival which runs from March 15-27, 2011. More info on the festival at www.dcenvironmentalfilmfest.org. To learn more about BAG IT and what you can do to reduce, reuse, recycle, go to www.bagitmovie.com.
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Another screening of PLAYGROUND will unspool at the Library of Congress on July 29, 2010, hosted by Congressmen James McGovern and Tom Lantos, of the Human Rights Commission and Foreign Affairs Committee. As we've reported before, Director Libby Spears' documentary informed legislation introduced by Senators Ron Wyden and John Cornyn (S. 2925) and Representatives Carolyn Maloney and Christopher Smith (H.R. 5575), the Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Deterrence and Victims Support Act of 2010, which seeks to provide targeted and effective solutions to the problem. If you didn't get a chance to see the film yet, try to make this screening. Can't go? You must read Nicholas Kristof's moving New York Times column today Seduction, Slavery and Sex, which sums up the stakes.
The Impact Arts + Film Fund and Green Film Company held a screening of GERRYMANDERING last month in Washington, DC to rapt audiences, curious to hear what Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Congressman John Tanner, former congressman Martin Frost and moderator & Washington Post reporter Jonathan Capehart had to say about the pitfalls of politically-inspired restristricting and the importance of the public understanding how political districts are drawn, especially during the 2010 census process. Director Jeff Reichert created a strong record of "gerrymandering" told with insight and humor, sure to fuel debate for further legislative efforts to improve the system. The film will be continuing its festival cycle, and we will report back when theatrical and broadcast dates are set. Until then, check out a review of the film from Tribeca at CinemaBlend, or learn more about the film here.
We are excited to announce that we're joining forces with The Washington Post and Funny or Die to celebrate the second annual "First Amendment Party" as part of the White House Correspondents Association Dinner weekend. We will be celebrating the history and impact of the First Amendment, which by establishing and defending freedom of speech and of the press, has played a critical role in shaping our nation by empowering the press to tell America's story. It will be held on Friday, April 30th, 10:00 pm - 2:00 pm.
We all know The Washington Post provides award-winning news and analysis about the politics, policies, personalities and institutions that make Washington, DC the world's seat of power. And it would be hard to miss the impact and attention Funny or Die has been getting for its oft-politically themed and impactful comedy on their award-winning website, founded by Will Ferrell, Adam McKay and Chris Henchy.
Last year's celebration brought together filmmakers, actors, artists, press and policy-makers and was the perfect kick-off to the weekend-long nod to the role of press in American politics and life (check out our past programs page). IAFF and our partners will be cooking up a great event, you can be sure.
More to come.
Impact Film Festival '09 Alum Libby Spears is poised to see excerpts from her film, PLAYGROUND, screened before a senate committee hearing on sex trafficking for the second time in three months. She will also participate in the hearing, provided the DC inclement weather doesn't result in a reschedule. The film is shaping attitudes and legislation as increasing numbers of policy-makers are exposed to its powerful portrayal of sex trafficking of children in the US.
Senator Richard Durbin, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law will convene a Subcommittee hearing entitled "In Our Own Backyard: Child Prostitution and Sex Trafficking in the United States" this week, a direct result of viewing PLAYGROUND, which outlines the problem in the US. They plan to present excerpts from the film at the hearing. This follows a hill briefing Senator Ron Wyden held in December and legislation he introduced that targets federal funds to regions of the country with the greatest need. According to the legislation, each pilot project would receive a grant of $2.5 million. The money would be used for:
- Shelters to provide separate housing for trafficking victims;
- Clothing and other daily needs to keep victims from returning to the street;
- Victims' assistance counseling and legal services;
- Education or job training classes for victims;
- Training for law enforcement and social services providers;
- Police officer salaries-patrol officers, detectives, investigators;
- Prosecutor salaries and other trial expenses;
- Investigation expenses-wiretaps, expert consultants, travel, other "technical assistance" expenditures (currently, there is a cap on "technical assistance" that is too low.);
- Outreach, education, and deterrence/prevention efforts.
Libby Spears, who also participated in Senator Wyden's event, told us, "We're thrilled that PLAYGROUND is being utilized by policy-makers in their efforts to end sex trafficking and increase support for victims in the US. These hearings are the beginning of the battle and more legislators and citizens need to engage in the conversation that PLAYGROUND is trying to jumpstart."
We'll check in with Libby after the hearing and keep you updated on what happens, as well as any change-making from other films we've championed as they move beyond awareness to achieving real impact.
To all of the artists, panelists, partners, programmers, supporters, vendors, and volunteers for the Impact Arts + Film Fund (IAFF) programs in 2008-2009, a very hearty thank you! It has been such an honor to showcase high-caliber work, build prestigious and exciting panel discussions and celebrate your accomplishments.
It is always a thrill when films that you've championed receive the second highest filmmaking honor: Academy Award nominations (the highest of course being the Oscar win). A special shout out of congratulations to the 2009 films we screened in DC:
FOOD, INC - Best Documentary Feature
THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN AMERICA: DANIEL ELLSBERG AND THE PENTAGON PAPERS - Best Documentary Feature
IN THE LOOP - Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
THE MESSENGER - Best Writing (Original Screenplay)
Woody Harrelson, THE MESSENGER - Best Supporting Actor Role
When my fellow co-founders Jamie Shor, Kimball Stroud and our friends and partners at IAFF set about creating this organization, we weren't entirely sure what we were building. But we knew a few things: (1) we were committed to elevating the themes and topics in the arts through film screenings, panel discussions, promotional events and the press to educate and enlighten audiences; (2) our location in the nation's Capital and our backgrounds in politics, policy and entertainment enabled us to provided benefits to filmmakers and artists beyond what other organizations can; and (3) we are measured by the success we share with our artists and their education campaigns. The tagline for our Festivals and screenings has been "Where Film Crosses the Aisle" and we're happy to report, our events are populated with politically-diverse points of view and representatives who value the insights conveyed in Impact films.
Tina Daunt wrote of our Kick-off in the Los Angeles Times, "One of the most successful innovations at both conventions this year is also one of the most unlikely: A film festival." Since launching at the Democratic and Republican Conventions with a nine-film slate including IOUSA, TROUBLE THE WATER, FLOW, BOOFIE MAN: THE LEE ATWATER STORY, KICKING IT and BATTLE IN SEATTLE, we have held successful policy-focused screenings in 2009 of Oscar-nominated FOOD, INC and IN THE LOOP, plus GOOD HAIR and ME AND ORSON WELLES.
Our 2009 Impact Film Festival, with most screenings in the US Capitol building, included Oscar-nominated THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN AMERICA: DANIEL ELLSBERG AND THE PENTAGON PAPERS and THE MESSENGER, as well as MONEY-DRIVEN MEDICINE, PLAYGROUND and a private screening for CLIMATE REFUGEES, which had its acclaimed public World Premiere at the Just concluded 2010 Sundance Film Festival. Senator Barbara Boxer was in attendance at both events, to drive home climate change as a national security issue. All our screenings include such policy-maker attendance to enhance the dialogue and increase engagement, which you can find elsewhere on our site.
We have also launched books with impactful subjects. Most recently, an event with Anne E. Kornblut for her book Notes From The Cracked Ceiling: Hilary Clinton, Sarah Palin, And What it Will Take For A Woman To Win. It included a discussion with Dee Dee Meyers, Nicolle Wallace and Kathleen Parker, introduced by The Fix's Chris Cillizza. See Video clips here: http://tinyurl.com/y8f37ql
IAFF held successful events for Douglas Brinkley's The Wildnerness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt And The Crusade For America and Dan Mirvish and Eitan Gorlin's I Am Martin Eisenstadt: One Man's (Wildly Inappropriate) Adventures With The Last Republicans.
None of this would have been possible without our "Artists Making an Impact" Presidential Inauguration event and "First Amendment Party" as part of the White House Correspondence Dinner weekend, which helped elevate our mission and raise funds for our programs.
We hope you will browse our site to learn more about our mission and sign up for updates for our 2010 activities.
May all your artistry have impact in 2010 and beyond.
Jody Arlington, Co-Founder
A full house of DC pols, press, patriots and representatives from half the city’s think tanks and policy forums came out for the DC premiere of Impact Arts + Film Fund & IFC's IN THE LOOP screening and reception. The film rightfully draws “instant comparisons to some of the great political and absurdist comedies such as DOCTOR STRANGELOVE, WAG THE DOG, THANK YOU FOR SMOKING and MONTY PYTHON. With razor-sharp, truly laugh-out-loud dialogue the film pokes fun at the absurdity and ineptitude of our highest leaders. With everyone looking out for number one, and the fate of the free world at stake (but apparently incidental), the hilarious ensemble cast of characters bumbles its way through Machiavellian political dealings, across continents, and toward comic resolutions that are unforeseeable.”
Of the many staffers, members and former members in the audience: Rep. Lynn Woolsey and her Chief of staff Nora Matus; former Rep. Karen Thurman; Senator Chuck Schumer staffer Stacy Ettinger; Joel Segal, Legislative Asst. to Rep. John Conyers; and Senator Kay Hagan’s State Director Muthoni Wambu.
Director-writer Armando Iannucci, star David Rasche and several of the films co-writers including Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, and David Grier, attended the event for a post screening discussion and reception. As expected, the DC crowd more than most responded to characters and scenarios that they have been living or watching unfold for the past seven years from inside the beltway. What made this an Impact movie was two-fold: The film reveals the perils of linguistic imprecision in politics and diplomacy, and how easily meaning can be manipulated. Secondly, anyone who has been a staffer, congressional intern or worked in politics is haunted by their own "Malcolm Tuckers", bullying, swearing, sometimes just mean bosses or colleagues. Or conversely, bumbling elected and appointed "leaders" who couldn't survive without their aids. We’ve also seen the young interns taking up squash, or now-a-days basketball, just in case that coveted opportunity to play with the big guy finally happens. During the Q&A Conyers aid Segal noted the factual accuracy of Armando and his team’s fictional rendering of Washington. Armando says he continues to be asked by policy-makers “how did you find that out? Who told you? We never told anyone.” to things he invented. Rasche, who plays a David Addington/Donald Rumsfeld-type character at State, said he prepared for the role for years, simply by watching CNN, MSNBC and FOX; whereas James Gandolfini, spent a couple days at the Pentagon to learn how to walk, talk and swear like a four star anti-war general. The inevitable comparisons between Malcolm Tucker’s swearing communications pro and DC’s own foul-mouthed Rahm Emanuel also emerged in the post screening discussion.
But ‘splaining, (to repeat the unfortunate word choice of Senator Coburn in the other political theatre taking place this week in the Sotomayor Supreme Court nomination hearings) will never do this film justice. You must see it when it opens theatrically across the US on July 24th, here in DC at the E Street Theater. Trailer and good tidbits here: http://tinyurl.com/cqa9j9
The Impact Arts & Film fund was recently honored as one of a select group invited to attend THE GOOD PITCH at the 2009 SILVERDOCS Festival, a forum designed to bring together the media makers and NGOs to harness the power of documentary to initiate global change. In association with Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation and the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program, eight film projects that tackle important global and national issues were presented to a group of experts from over 95 charities, foundations, advertising agencies, and public and commercial media interests. Here at IA&FF, we are looking forward to finding ways to promote some of these extraordinary projects.
IndieWire remarked that as THE GOOD PITCH came “roaring into Silver Spring with a vengeance,” there were “some wonderful surprises of synergy, and moments that crystallized partnerships and opened eyes to the new memes of strategic partnership for documentaries”. The event travelled to DC from Hot DOCS, where Cara Mertes, director of the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program, said, “The Good Pitch is a new evolution in the pitch forum format,” and Still in Motion “noted that “emphasis of The Good Pitch is not on ‘advocacy,’ so much as on global social transformation”. SILVERDOCSartistic director, Sky Sitney, echoed this sentiment, saying, “It is a perfect fit with our ethos of celebrating excellence in cinema, supporting a diverse range of voices and storytelling, and fostering the power of documentary to enhance our understanding of the world”.
The eight inspiring finalists that presented at SILVERDOCS, “one of the most prestigious film events devoted to the non-fiction form,” according toFest21, were selected from a pool of over 300 applicants. The film projects ranged widely in topic, incorporating issues reaching from environmental sustainability to non-violent resistance in the Middle East. They included the following, as described by Cineuropea.org:
BUDRUS HAS A HAMMER/Dir. Julia Bacha
A Palestinian community organizer unites Fatah, Hamas and Israelis in a Gandhian struggle to save his village, unleashing a non-violent movement - with women on the front lines - that is still gaining ground today.
CAPE WIND: THE FIGHT FOR THE FUTURE OF POWER IN AMERICA/Dir. Robbie Gemmel
CAPE WIND illuminates the divisive controversy surrounding the Cape Wind Project – a proposal to build 130 wind turbines off the coast of Cape Cod – translating the furor which exploded on the Cape Cod community into a story of transcendent national importance for the future of sustainability in America.
ETHIOPIA’S EXCHANGE/Dir. Hugo Berkeley
ETHIOPIA’S EXCHANGE tells the story of a woman on a mission - and a world of trouble standing in her way. Eleni Gabre-Madhin, a charismatic Ethiopian economist, wants to end hunger in her famine-plagued country. She designed the nation's first commodities exchange, which she hopes will revolutionize an age-old market system.
GREEN SHALL OVERCOME/Dir. Megan Gelstein
GREEN SHALL OVERCOME takes an in-depth look at the green-collar job movement through the lens of Van Jones, an African-American civil-rights lawyer. Jones envisions the new green economy as a pathway out of poverty for low-income Americans while simultaneously solving challenges of environmental destruction. After years of advocating for change, Jones is recruited by the Obama Administration and appointed Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation by the White House Council on Environment Quality.
HIGH TECH, LOW LIFE/Dir. Stephen T. Maing
HIGH TECH, LOW LIFE is about one of China's first citizen reporters and the achievements of a fearless new digital youth generation. The film follows the evolution of a young vegetable seller from blogger to internet celebrity as he reports on sensitive news stories in China.
HUNGRY IN AMERICA/Dirs. Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush
HUNGRY IN AMERICA will investigate why nearly 38 million Americans - including 14 million children - go hungry here, in one of the richest nations on earth.
OUT IN THE SILENCE/Dir. Joe Wilson and Dean Hamer
Out in the Silence uses the story of a small American town confronting the firestorm of controversy ignited by a same-sex wedding announcement to illustrate the challenge of being an outsider in a conservative environment and catalyze new ways of making resources and support available for those working for change.
SPLIT ESTATE/Dir. Debra Anderson
SPLIT ESTATE follows an unfolding conflict in the Rocky Mountains. With cries from Washington for more domestic gas and oil production, the citizens of Colorado and New Mexico find themselves in the path of an unstoppable rush to drill that is destroying their health, their homes, and their communities.
Out of a rousing series of fast-paced pitches, each lasting a mere seven minutes, came on-the-spot financing, next-day TV broadcast offers, as well as NGO, non-profit, and media platform partnerships. One high-profile alliance was forged between Art Stevens, relationship manager at the Calvert Foundation, who offered a contribution of $10,000 to filmmakers Megan Gelstein and Rick Butler, the makers of GREEN SHALL OVERCOME. Other notable partnerships included a broadcast offer from Planet Green for Debra Anderson’s SPLIT ESTATE. Additionally, Lucy Bailey and Andrew Thompson’s MUGABE AND THE WHITE AFRICAN, one of the films pitched at last years BRITDOC’s Big Pitch last year, earned the SILVERDOCS’ World Feature Award, along with $10,000.
The Impact Arts & Film Fund was delighted to be included in the GOOD PITCH’s first venture into the North American film community and will continue to pursue partnerships with these and other social action films. Congratulations to SILVERDOCS, the Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation, the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program, and Sandi DuBowski for their masterful stewardship of the event. From SILVERDOCS, THE GOOD PITCH will go first to London, September 7th-8th, and then on to the Independent Film Week in New York City on September 24th.
We'll continue to update and these projects make their way to completion, and out into the world.
Here at Impact we are thrilled to be presenting an advance screening of the documentary FOOD, INC, on Monday, June 8 at 6:00PM at Landmark’s E Street Cinema (555 11th St, NW, WDC) The screening will be followed by a discussion with filmmaker Robert Kenner, Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma), Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) and food safety advocate Barb Kowalcyk.
In FOOD, INC. Kenner lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that's been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, insecticide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won't go bad, but we also have new strains of e coli--the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually.
This is one of the most important documentaries of the year and the discussion promises to be engaging. In case you can't make the screening, Magnolia Pictures will open FOOD, INC. on June 19 in Washington, DC.
The Washington Post reports rap legend and Impact Artist Darryl “DMC” McDaniels returned to Washington following his January performance at the Impact Film Fund’s “Artists Making an Impact” event to promote the city's foster home program. He learned he was adopted as an infant ten years ago, which was chronicled in the documentary DMC: MY ADOPTION JOURNEY. He subsequently has dedicated significant time to recruiting foster families and adoption. McDaniels is taping ads for the city’s program, funded by a $100,000 donation from Freddie Mac Foundation in the hopes of finding 500 new D.C. homes within 18 months. Do you have what it takes? Learn more here.
