Doc U: Global Impact - Docs as Tools of Change
The International Documentary Association
The Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP)
and The Paley Center for Media
Present:
Special support provided by
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Doc U: Global Impact
Docs as Tools of Change
FRIDAY, JANUARY 11, 2013
Mark Goodson Theater
The Paley Center for Media • 25 West 52nd Street, New York, NY 10019
Admission is free. RSVP is required.
Seating is first come, first served.
Documentary film has long been recognized as a powerful agent for finding common ground across cultures, through our shared human experiences. In fact, the motion picture service was one of the integral components of the United States Information Agency (which later merged into the State Department) when it was formed in 1953. Documentaries allow us to experience on a first person level the reality of people who are separated from us geographically, politically, or culturally. Documentaries show us the world through the people who live in it, and create a powerful "way in" to global challenges, through the very personal stories of those that are immediately impacted by them.
The U.S. State Department continues to recognize the power of documentaries as a diplomatic tool, through the American Film Showcase, which sends delegations of U.S. filmmakers to foreign communities to conduct workshops on developing documentaries, so new stories can be be shared. IFP (The Independent Filmmaker Project), in partnership with The United Nations' Department of Public Information through its ENVISION program, seeks to synergize the efforts of NGOs, diplomatic efforts, and filmmakers to utilize documentary film as social change and outreach agents. What kinds of docs are considered for these programs? What reactions and impact have these outreach efforts had? How do the stories in social action documentaries impact the organizations and programs they are illustrating?
Join moderator Milton Tabbot (IFP) for a discussion with Rachel Gandin Mark (Program Administrator for the American Film Showcase at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts), Carlos Islam (United Nations Creative Community Outreach Initiative), and Anne Makepeace (writer, producer, and director) and learn how docs serve as delegates in the global community.