Film as a Force for Social Impact
Reflections from the 2016 Sundance Film Festival
Katherine Oliver
At this year’s Sundance Film Festival I was proud to be attending as a sponsor, an advocate and, as always, an enthusiastic cinephile. Artists and filmmakers have always been at the forefront of important cultural dialogue. Art can be a window into a moment in time, exploring the issues audiences are most plagued by. Bringing human scale stories to life and making something fantastical, irrelevant or far-off seem pressing and immediate. Film can give a voice and a platform to movements, figures, tragedies and triumphs that may not be getting their due in mainstream media coverage. Of course, film and entertainment can also be a source of escapism. Film has the unique ability to envelope us fully into a world on screen that bears little resemblance to the reality outside of the darkened theater. However, with a professionalized practice growing around the field of social impact and a continuously shifting distribution landscape, an increasing number of filmmakers are tapping into their activist or journalistic tendencies to bring us insights that are stingingly relevant to the experience of what it means to be alive today.
Evolution of Documentary & Distribution
New types of funding, production and distribution are emerging to bring audiences films that deliver great potential for social impact. Netflix and Amazon have emerged as attractive distribution platforms for a new kind of content that hasn’t otherwise fit squarely within traditional forms of theatrical and cable distribution. Companies as diverse as Participant Media and Discovery Communications are making public commitments to deliver informative and entertaining stories about issues that urgently need our attention.
No longer are film festivals just responsible for launching careers and creating award season’s buzz, today they are a place to spark informed, critical and probing dialogue about the issues that matter most to audiences — and society at large. They’re also a catalyzing force in creating a sense of community for filmmakers and the orbit of the industry that swirls around them from agents, to publicists, and funders (including those that might be contributing via Kickstarter who has helped to create more than 150 films that have opened theatrically), and — increasingly — audiences who are inspired by what they see on screen to take action and effect real social impact.
Documentaries have become more mainstream, thanks in part — to hear filmmaker Lauren Greenfield tell it — “because of our 24 hour news cycle that leaves people wanting more considered pieces of journalism.” Adding to this momentum is the reality that with budgets ranging from $500,000-$3 million, documentaries are usually nowhere near as expensive an investment as a feature film.
This trend was impossible to overlook at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. At a screening of his new documentary Resilience, filmmaker (and son of Sundance Film Festival founder Robert Redford) Jamie Redford stated it plainly: “Sundance has an opportunity to create a dialogue the way nowhere else does. It’s an honor to be a part of that.” Beyond just being an honor, being a part of Sundance unlocks the potential for a film to reach over 46,000 festival goers (according to a 2015 economic impact report) and more than 1,100 reporters. It’s a game changer for films like Redford’s which aim to raise awareness about toxic stress in children and the proven ways that childhood adversity can have a lifelong impact. When the lights came back up in the house, Redford encouraged the audience to share what they’d learned from the film with their own networks. Reminding us that, thanks to the ubiquity of Facebook and Twitter, our voices can help incite a ripple effect, carrying a film’s message out into the world before a distributor has even been secured.
In a highly divisive election year audiences are particularly hungry for films that address their most pressing concerns. Whether or not these issues will be intelligently addressed by candidates, or appear on the ballot, they are being thoughtfully explored through film. Case in point, Katie Couric and Atlas Films’ Under the Gun weaves together a comprehensive history of guns in America, the laws, culture and politics that have brought us to where we are today when nearly 100 people die of gun violence in America each day. The film paints a compelling case for the role of advocacy by weaving together moving interviews with victim’s families from mass shootings including Aurora and Newtown and random gunfire in San Bernadino and Chicago. At its Sundance premiere the film was met with a sustained standing ovation. In the Q&A that followed viewers wanted to know how to take action and become part of the growing chorus of Americans seeking to change the harrowing gun violence statistics of our country. Under The Gun wasn’t the only film addressing gun violence either, it was one of five titles effectively contributing to a sense of urgency around this issue. Other titles included: Speaking is Difficult, Dark Night, Newtown, and As You Are.
The Importance of a Strong Community
With the Catalyst program, the Sundance Institute reinforces their commitment to filmmakers whose voices they believe will resonate deeply with audiences, if they’re given the chance to do so. Bloomberg Philanthropies is proud to be a sponsor of the Sundance Institute’s Catalyst program because by connecting filmmakers and funders we’re investing in the importance of independent film to contribute to a cultural and social dialogue. The model, currently in its 3rd year, connects forward-thinking film investors with filmmakers to help them realize their vision and provide them with the resources they need to bring their projects to the screen. A group of 60 investors, some who have contributed to more than one project, believe deeply in the causes championed by the filmmakers and the power of film to tell those stories. The program has effectively created a community where investors are “as interested in the message as they are in the art,” according to participating filmmaker and Catalyst champion Lauren Greenfield. Since its launch Catalyst has raised $6.9 million and supported 32 films — exactly half of which are documentaries.
Lauren makes another important point that Sundance, particularly with programs like Catalyst, is not “just a place to show, it’s a place to grow.” The community building aspect of a film festival is increasingly important in a media landscape where films can be a force for social change and where filmmakers can use festivals as an opportunity to connect with peers and the widening range of people — not just traditional distributors, publicists, agents, but also advocates and experts — to develop and deliver their message.
Even before this year’s slate of films addressing gun violence in America, Catalyst helped build the drumbeat by supporting 3 and a ½ Minutes, a documentary about gun violence and legislation that screened at Sundance in 2015 and went on to be distributed by HBO. This year Catalyst was behind Newtown, a documentary exploring the sense of community and resilience that have defined the aftermath of the deadly Sandy Hook elementary school massacre of 2012. PBS has already secured TV distribution rights for Newtown, illustrating the far reaching impact of a premiere at Sundance.
Five Catalyst films had their premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival: Newtown, Audrie & Daisy, Hooligan Sparrow, The Bad Kids and Jacqueline (Argentine). With topics as wide ranging as juvenile sexual assault, online bullying, transparency, the American education system, and human rights activism stoked by social media in China, we see how filmmakers are challenging us to understand and examine the world around us with a renewed sense of commitment.
In the wake of community engagement the force for change is palpable. I’ll be watching closely to see how these films reach audiences and help change the conversation in the year ahead.
Article a creative collaboration with Shaina Horowitz
About the Author: Katherine Oliver has long recognized the potential for media and technology to redefine the ways we communicate and foster the economic development of cities, citizens, and businesses. Guided by decades of experience in the private sector — where she launched and then managed Bloomberg LP’s international TV and radio operations — and the public sector — where for 12 years she served under Mayor Michael Bloomberg as New York City’s Commissioner of Media and Entertainment — Katherine is a founding principal of Bloomberg Associates, a New York-based consulting firm, through which she provides media and technology consulting services to cities worldwide.
