How Conservation Efforts Are Using Films for Events
Films have the power to inspire action and transform opinion, and savvy conservation organizations recognize this. By partnering with independent filmmakers, conservation groups are creating meaningful community events that raise awareness about their cause, and broaden their reach. Furthering their mission even more, conservation organizations pair film screening with opportunities for action such as petitions, demonstrations, contacting town or state representatives, planning upcoming events, fundraisers, or direct-action volunteering. It is a win-win opportunity. Conservation organizations can host a fun and engaging event, filmmakers have an avenue for spreading their message to a greater audience, and supporters have an appealing way to participate in a relevant event.
Owen Davies, the Strategic Partnerships Manager of the Environmental Film Festival, has a lot to say about partnering conservation films with events and organizations. It is a core operation of the Environmental Film Festival who works with films from around the world. They collaborate on library programs, present programs in partnership with museums or commercial theaters and try to get films seen by the largest possible audience. “If there is a film with a specific issue, we will pair it with an organization with expertise and plan a public program. We put together a film and a speaker to have the maximum impact possible.” And Owen Davies says it is a successful strategy, “Twenty-three years speaks for itself.”
Owen says that paring conservation films with related organizations is a great model that allows the public audience to learn about and discuss an issue that engages them. Ultimately it serves to, “Create a space for the conversations to happen. Its all about getting people together in the same room to have conversations that will spark impactful programs which affect environmental change.”
Getting more viewers for a film is not the ultimate goal of a conservation filmmaker. But it can be one tool for creating momentum surrounding an issue. When conservation groups and filmmakers pair up they become more powerful proponents of change.
Owen cited one example of a film who is successfully paired with a conservation mission as being DamNation, the film that won this year’s first ever Environmental Film Festival Documentary Award for Environmental Advocacy. “They have some interesting community outreach and are partnering with Patagonia to do an advocacy campaign.”
Here are a few others that we thought demonstrated conservation organizations successfully using films for events on both the national and local scales, large and small:
Organizing for Action used the film Chasing Ice as the focus of their climate awareness events across the country. The organization’s aim is to mobilize supporters to back legislation, primarily liberal legislation. Jon Carson, the executive director, reported that in their experience the best relationships with long-form filmmakers happen when the filmmaker is flexible and focused on the mission rather than traditional distribution models. Because of Organizing for Action’s “Watch Party” campaign, Chasing Ice was seen at universities, theaters, and private screenings all across the country.
MoveOn.org is a non-profit public policy advocacy group that raises funds and awareness for political campaigns. In July of 2013 they launched a grassroots campaign to raise support against fracking in communities across the country. 300 small home-hosted parties featured a screening of Gasland followed by a discussion (with the filmmaker in virtual attendance) on how to stop fracking locally.
350.org is an environmental organization that encourages citizens to take action that will pressure world leaders into adressing climate change. Earlier this month their goal was to organize and motivate the largest global People’s Climate March to date. To get people thinking about the issue, they released Disruption online and organized independent screenings across the country. The screenings generated more energy toward the movement leading up to the widely attended September 21st climate march.
Earlier this year Gaithersburg Environmental Services hosted a community screening of No Impact Man as a kick-off to the city’s yearly “Gaithersburg Green Week.” The green week holds events and activities to celebrate and protect the local environment. The film screening was free to the public and created an opportunity to generate more community member involvement in the green week events.
Films have the power to inspire action and transform opinion, and savvy conservation organizations recognize this. By partnering with independent filmmakers, conservation groups are creating meaningful community events that raise awareness about their cause, and broaden their reach. Furthering their mission even more, conservation organizations pair film screening with opportunities for action such as petitions, demonstrations, contacting town or state representatives, planning upcoming events, fundraisers, or direct-action volunteering. It is a win-win opportunity. Conservation organizations can host a fun and engaging event, filmmakers have an avenue for spreading their message to a greater audience, and supporters have an appealing way to participate in a relevant event.
Owen Davies, the Strategic Partnerships Manager of the Environmental Film Festival, has a lot to say about partnering conservation films with events and organizations. It is a core operation of the Environmental Film Festival who works with films from around the world. They collaborate on library programs, present programs in partnership with museums or commercial theaters and try to get films seen by the largest possible audience. “If there is a film with a specific issue, we will pair it with an organization with expertise and plan a public program. We put together a film and a speaker to have the maximum impact possible.” And Owen Davies says it is a successful strategy, “Twenty-three years speaks for itself.”
Owen says that paring conservation films with related organizations is a great model that allows the public audience to learn about and discuss an issue that engages them. Ultimately it serves to, “Create a space for the conversations to happen. Its all about getting people together in the same room to have conversations that will spark impactful programs which affect environmental change.”
Getting more viewers for a film is not the ultimate goal of a conservation filmmaker. But it can be one tool for creating momentum surrounding an issue. When conservation groups and filmmakers pair up they become more powerful proponents of change.
Owen cited one example of a film who is successfully paired with a conservation mission as being DamNation, the film that won this year’s first ever Environmental Film Festival Documentary Award for Environmental Advocacy. “They have some interesting community outreach and are partnering with Patagonia to do an advocacy campaign.”
Here are a few others that we thought demonstrated conservation organizations successfully using films for events on both the national and local scales, large and small:
Organizing for Action used the film Chasing Ice as the focus of their climate awareness events across the country. The organization’s aim is to mobilize supporters to back legislation, primarily liberal legislation. Jon Carson, the executive director, reported that in their experience the best relationships with long-form filmmakers happen when the filmmaker is flexible and focused on the mission rather than traditional distribution models. Because of Organizing for Action’s “Watch Party” campaign, Chasing Ice was seen at universities, theaters, and private screenings all across the country.
MoveOn.org is a non-profit public policy advocacy group that raises funds and awareness for political campaigns. In July of 2013 they launched a grassroots campaign to raise support against fracking in communities across the country. 300 small home-hosted parties featured a screening of Gasland followed by a discussion (with the filmmaker in virtual attendance) on how to stop fracking locally.
350.org is an environmental organization that encourages citizens to take action that will pressure world leaders into adressing climate change. Earlier this month their goal was to organize and motivate the largest global People’s Climate March to date. To get people thinking about the issue, they released Disruption online and organized independent screenings across the country. The screenings generated more energy toward the movement leading up to the widely attended September 21st climate march.
Earlier this year Gaithersburg Environmental Services hosted a community screening of No Impact Man as a kick-off to the city’s yearly “Gaithersburg Green Week.” The green week holds events and activities to celebrate and protect the local environment. The film screening was free to the public and created an opportunity to generate more community member involvement in the green week events.