THE FOLLOWING EVENT IS TAKING PLACE IN SILVER SPRING, MD -
JUST OUTSIDE OF WASHINGTON DC:
The Docs In Progress Evening with an Expert series returns on Monday May 2. This program will focus on how brings filmmakers and other industry professionals to be engaged in an active distribution campaign for a social issue documentary, using the Emmy Award-winning Out in the Silence as a case study.
Filmmakers Joe Wilson and Dean Hamer will return to Docs In Progress during a brief break from their outreach tour to discuss how they built a grassroots campaign around the film to help raise visibility and use the film as a tool for mobilizing action. Among the topics to be covered:
* Measuring tangible impacts through documentary screenings and discussions
* Building relationships with community partners
* Balancing "old-school" grassroots outreach such as radio interviews, local newspaper articles, fliers, and posters with "new school" methods such as social media, e-mail marketing, website and blog coverage, and online screenings.
* Strategies for fundraising, friendraising, and film sales for social issue films
* How making a difference and making a living through documentary do not have to be mutually exclusive concepts.
WHEN?
Monday, May 2, 2011
6:30 pm Networking and Refreshments
7:00 – 8:30 pm Program and Q&A
WHERE?
Docs In Progress
8700 First Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20910
REGISTRATION FEE?
$25 if register and pay online no later than 5 pm on May 2. ($20 for Docs Insiders*)
$30 if pay by cash or check at the door. (no discounts)
- The Docs Insiders Program is an annual membership program. For an annual fee, Docs Insiders get preferred rates on Docs In Progress and partner progrms and access to apply for the Docs In Progress Fiscal Sponsorship Program.
TO REGISTER, VISIT THE
DOCS IN PROGRESS WEBSITE.
ABOUT THE FILM
Out in the Silence captures the remarkable chain of events that unfold when the announcement of filmmaker Joe Wilson's wedding to another man, Dean Hamer, ignites a firestorm of controversy in his small Pennsylvania hometown. When the mother of a gay teen being tormented at a school in the town writes to Wilson, he is drawn back on a journey through love, hate, and understanding in rural America. Prior to its completion, Out in the Silence was workshopped through several Docs In Progress programs including Peer Pitch, Work in Progress Screenings, and One-on-One Consultations.
Out in the Silence has been playing the film festival circuit for more than 1 1/2 years, has been funded by the Sundance Documentary Fund, has screened on public television, and recently won a regional Emmy Award for Best Documentary. However, these kudos pale in comparison to the deeper impact the film is making in small towns across America as the filmmakers have taken it to community screenings one town at a time. The aim of this grassroots campaign is to expand public awareness about the difficulties that GLBT people face in rural and small town America and to promote dialogue and action that will help people on all sides of the issues find common ground.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Social activist and filmmaker Joe Wilson was frustrated by the limitations of traditional advocacy, and so he picked up a camera with hopes of reaching broader audiences with stories that inform and compel people to question and act. Wilson's work has been awarded winner of the Videomaker Magazine National Documentary Challenge, Audience Prize at the One-in-Ten Film Festival, and Best Short Film at the Barcelona Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, among other recognitions.
Scientist turned filmmaker Dean Hamer joined the journalism field after being invited to discuss his research on AIDS, human sexuality, and behavior genetics on numerous television news shows. He set out to communicate complex scientific and social ideas through compelling documentaries. Hamer's debut film, The Preacher and the Poet (also an alum of the Docs In Progress Work-in-Progress Screening Program), was a winner at the PBS/Independent Lens Online Shorts Festival. His work also has been awarded the Audience Prize at the One-in-Ten Film Festival, and Best Short Film at the Barcelona Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, among other recognitions. Hamer also has worked on productions for the BBC, Discovery Science, and network news channels. He has written three award-winning books, including The Science of Desire, which was a New York Times "Notable Book of the Year" in 1994.
Wilson and Hamer are partners in filmmaking as well as life, having produced over a dozen pieces for their company, qWaves.
While this talk will not include a full screening of the film, Out in the Silence can be viewed online on Hulu or SnagFilms or can be purchased on DVD or digital download through their a variety of sources.
