Cause v. Consumerism Panel

Panelists Melissa Mummert, Diane Rosenfeld, Andrew Nisker, Roberta Oster Sachs, and Julie Dobrow gathered at McTrib Forum to bring the issue of funding into the social media creation process.

After working as an environmental prosecutor, Co-Producer of Rape Is… gravitated toward women’s advocacy. “There’s a dearth of women who have been lucky enough to not have been victimized who have a sense of entitlement and rage,” Rosenfeld said, reffering to herself as one of the “lucky ones.”

Rosenfeld and Sachs introduced the idea of social marketing to attract attention and potential funding, sharing the newly-concocted catchy slogan, “it’s cool to be kind.” Sachs also emphasized the importance of a specific action plan and not getting lost among millions of messages. “If you want to do media for social change, what is that change? There are so many wonderful avenues but if you’re not clear you’re going to get lost..” Sachs said.

Moderator and Northwestern University senior lecturer Bill Bleich pushed forward the discussion on possible and practical ways of raising money for documentary films.

Director and writer of Garbage! The Revolution Starts at Home Andrew Nisker encountered marketing and fundraising challenges at the finish of the documentary. “My producer said everyone is my audience: every one cares about the environment. You have a massive market, how do you find this audience,” Nisker said, for instance “moms care about the environment because they care about their kids.” Nisker subsequently hired a volunteer to sift through moms’ websites and organizations to reach to one niche of that audience.

Panelists encouraged potential documentarians to ask around for grants and funding from a variety of mentors and sources, while some also suggested the Snag Films financial model of pulling revenue from commercials.

Watch for snapshots of the Panel and the Throwaway War Premiere yesterday.