Active Voice projects are designed from a healthy mix of strategy + creativity. Learn more about the outcomes from our signature campaigns.
A Class Apart A Class Apart, by Carlos Sandoval and Peter Miller, is built around the landmark 1954 legal case Hernandez v. Texas, in which an underdog band of Mexican Americans from Texas bring a case all the way to the Supreme Court—and win. Overview House Party Toolkit Event Planning Toolkit for Organizations
Advise and Dissent Advise & Dissent, an award-winning film by David Van Taylor, examines the future of the Supreme Court and reveals the little-known activists who are re-shaping American politics. Overview First Monday Launch Event Planning Guide
Barbershop Punk Barbershop Punk tells the groundbreaking story of Robb Topolski, who challenged the nation's largest cable company, Comcast, after discovering they blocked the barbershop quartet music he was legally sharing online. Filmmakers Georgia Archer and Kristin Armfield propel viewers onto the fast lane of the internet super highway, shedding light on the "punks" – from the Christian Coalition to the Songwriter's Guild of America – who are striving to keep the internet accessible to everyone. Overview
Beyond the Choir
Every so often, Active Voice sees a "social issue" film that resonates with people's core values and helps them walk in the shoes of others, without preaching or polarizing the issues.
The Calling The Calling, from the Kindling Group, is an upcoming PBS documentary miniseries that follows eight Catholic, Evangelical Christian, Jewish and Muslim Americans who are training for religious leadership. It takes viewers into the unknown world of seminaries to reveal the real people "behind the robes." Overview
Chasing Freedom
In this Court TV original movie, Juliette Lewis plays a reluctant lawyer who takes on a pro bono case in defense of a young Afghan woman, a teacher fleeing the Taliban, who seeks asylum in the United States. Inspired by true events, the film pulls back the curtain on the usually hidden world of asylee detention.
Child Brides: Stolen Lives
In this hour-long special report by NOW on PBS, Child Brides: Stolen Lives takes an unprecedented inside look at a global custom—early marriage—that devastates girls' lives and holds back communities. Overview Campaign Details Facilitator Guide: Global Applications
Connected
In Connected: An Autoblogography About Love, Death & Technology, Webby Awards founder Tiffany Shlain explores a particularly vulnerable period of her life while exposing the visible and invisible connections linking major issues of our time. A personal film with universal relevance, Connected explores how after centuries of declaring our independence, it may be time for us to declare our interdependence. Overview
A Doula Story A Doula Story, produced by The Kindling Group, documents one woman’s fierce commitment to empower pregnant teenagers with the skills and knowledge they need to become confident, nurturing mothers.
Farmingville A brutal, hate-based beating of two Mexican day laborers catapulted the Long Island suburb of Farmingville into national headlines. Farmingville brings this combustible situation to the screen with an extraordinarily balanced look at the stories and opinions of town leaders, longtime residents, day laborers and activists.
Food, Inc.
In Food, Inc., director Robert Kenner (Road to Memphis) lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing a secretive and highly mechanized system controlled by international corporations that routinely prioritize profit over the health and safety of consumers. Overview Campaign Details Planning Toolkit / Spanish Version Community Action Guide / Spanish Version
Greensboro: Closer to the Truth Greensboro: Closer to the Truth, by Adam Zucker, uses the first Truth and Reconciliation Commission ever held in the United States—which tackled the Greensboro Massacre of 1979—as a storyline to explore how people confront the truth of their past and struggle with the possibility of hope and redemption. Overview Campaign Details Facilitation and Dialogue Guide
Have You Heard From Johannesburg? Have You Heard From Johannesburg? is a documentary miniseries by Connie Field that tells the story of the global movement to end apartheid in South Africa and the everyday people who helped bring one of the world’s most brutally repressive systems to its knees. Overview Campaign Details Discussion Guide
Make Agent Orange History Make Agent Orange History is a collaborative effort to raise awareness of the long-term effects of Agent Orange in Vietnam, highlight solutions to the problem and connect individuals and organizations with opportunities to get involved. Overview Campaign Details Event Planning Toolkit
The New Americans The New Americans, produced by Kartemquin Films (Hoop Dreams), is a landmark PBS miniseries that reveals the remarkable sweep of immigrant experiences through the stories of a diverse group of immigrants and refugees who leave their homes and families behind and come to live in America.
Off To War Off to War is a 10-part documentary series by Brent Renaud and Craig Renaud that tracks one year in the life of an Iraq-bound Arkansas National Guard unit—and the families they left behind—as they are deployed, train, battle and finally return to their communities.
Out in the Silence Out in the Silence, by Joe Wilson and Dean Hamer, tells the story of a rural Pennsylvania town and a handful of residents struggling for inclusion despite vehement anti-gay sentiment. Overview Discussion Guide Event Planning Toolkit
Race to Execution
Using personal narratives and often unexpected results from research on race, justice and the media, Rachel Lyon’s Race to Execution follows the haunting stories of two death row inmates and exposes the role race plays in who lives and who dies at the hands of the state.
Renewal Renewal, by Marty Ostrow and Terry Kay Rockefeller, is the first feature-length documentary to capture the vitality and diversity of America’s religious-environmental movement. Overview
Shelby Knox Redux Shelby Knox Redux, by Marion Lipschutz and Rose Rosenblatt, profiles a high school student who, despite her deeply conservative Southern Baptist upbringing, advocates comprehensive sex education and gay rights. Five years after her controversial activities and now living on her own, she returns to Lubbock, Texas to check in with her friends, her supportive parents and a local church that "welcomes" everyone. Overview Campaign Details Discussion Guide Resource Guide
Torn From Home: My Life as a Refugee Torn From Home: My Life as a Refugee is an innovative traveling museum exhibit, developed by Lied Discovery Children’s Museum, that takes audiences on a hands-on journey into the extraordinary lives of children who are forced to flee their homes and seek safety in a new land. Overview Campaign Details
Trouble the Water
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Documentary, Tia Lessin and Carl Deal's Trouble the Water tells the true story of one young couple’s triumphant journey to rebuild their lives after Hurricane Katrina. Living on the margins, Kim and Scott Roberts survive not only broken levees, misguided soldiers, and bungling bureaucrats, but a social system that has failed them. Overview
The Visitor The Visitor, an acclaimed feature film by Tom McCarthy (The Station Agent), tells the story of a disillusioned college professor and a young immigrant couple whose lives are forever changed by a chance encounter. Overview Campaign Details Case Study Discussion Guide
Worlds Apart / Hold Your Breath
Produced by Maren Grainger Monsen, MD, of Stanford University, Worlds Apart and Hold Your Breath follow patients and families in homes, neighborhoods and hospital wards across the country to reveal how race, culture and class are contributing to stark health disparities in the United States. Overview
"Active Voice has mastered the one-two punch of breathing life into policy decisions by putting a human face on huge social issues — and empowering communities, local leaders and policy-makers at all levels by giving them tools to raise their voices to make change."
Kathryn Thomas Senior Communications Officer, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Beyond the Choir
Every so often, Active Voice sees a "social issue" film that resonates with people's core values and helps them walk in the shoes of others, without preaching or polarizing the issues. The characters are complex and so are the challenges they face. These are the films you want your friends to watch, and probably even your enemies. (You might even recommend them to your parents!) Instead of hitting you over the head with a single point of view, they make you want to know more, think critically and even engage with other people. And as video becomes more and more influential and ubiquitous, these stories can humanize thorny public policy issues in ways that print media and talking heads often cannot.
Active Voice’s initiative, Beyond the Choir, is focused on what makes this kind of storytelling tick, and the role it can play helping people make more informed decisions about the world they want to live in. We have an idea that by working with filmmakers at formative stages of production and by building collaborations with policy experts, public opinion pollsters, strategic communicators and funders, we can create and better understand how to shape stories that click with audiences far beyond the "Sundance Belt."
Beyond the Choir films include:
Farmingville, by Carlos Sandoval and Catherine Tambini
Getting High, by Victor Silverman
New Muslim Cool, by Jennifer Maytorena Taylor
For more information about this project, click here.
Chasing Freedom
About the Campaign: Active Voice’s Chasing Freedom Campaign used the unusual platform of cable television to encourage communities and broadcast audiences to review asylum detention policies. Nationwide screening events, law school forums and organizational partnerships enabled people to connect with local and national advocacy efforts.
Project Activities:
A screening for D.C. policymakers, sponsored by Human Rights First, and other events that encouraged the formation of an Office of Refugee Protection within the Department of Homeland Security
Dozens of events before and after the Court TV broadcast in community settings, law schools and even detention facilities
Long-term tools, including legal curricula, for pro bono attorneys, physicians and service providers who wish to aid asylum seekers
Partners (partial list):
Amnesty International
truTV (formerly Court TV)
Human Rights First (formerly the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights)
Lutheran Immigrant and Refugee Service
Ford Foundation
Who's Talking About the Campaign: "In dealing with U.S. officials in Washington, it was really helpful to point out that through Active Voice’s efforts, there were many, many organizations holding screenings around the country." -Eleanor Acer
Director of the Asylum Program, Human Rights First
Campaign Timeline: 2004 – 2005
A Doula Story
About the Campaign:
Working closely with The Kindling Group and Health Connect One, Active Voice designed a national campaign that inspired the replication of the community-based doula model depicted in the film and sparked new collaborations to improve reproductive health care and provide nonjudgmental support for young mothers.
Project Activities:
A screening at the National Press Club with key congressional staffers, which inspired Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) to submit a successful request—co-sponsored by then-Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) and others—for the first-ever federal funding of community-based doula programs, over half a million dollars of which was awarded to Health Connect One to support six doula programs nationwide
Cross-sector screening forums to promote long-overdue dialogue among stakeholders, including hospital administrators, teen advocates, maternal care specialists, funders, public health professionals and community organizers
Resource materials in English, Spanish and Japanese to be used as training tools in clinics, universities and community-based organizations
Partners (partial list):
Health Connect One (formerly Chicago Health Connection)
Healthy Teen Network
The Kindling Group
Marguerite Casey Foundation
Who's Talking About the Campaign: "This documentary and campaign helped put the practice of community-based doulas on the map and has laid the groundwork for long-term change." -Phyllis Glink
Executive Director, Irving Harris Foundation
Campaign Timeline: 2004 – 2006
Farmingville
About the Campaign: As tension increased in new “gateway” communities and suburbs, Active Voice used this cautionary tale of a town in crisis to encourage policymakers, immigration advocates and communities to work together to create positive solutions.
Project Activities:
A special screening and briefing at the Brookings Institution for stakeholders including elected officials, policy analysts and day laborers
Guided bridge-building dialogues in communities with large day laborer populations
Development of resources highlighting successful models of police departments, public agencies and community-based groups working together to solve tough issues
Cultivation events to encourage funders and individual donors to support community problem-solving efforts
Partners (partial list):
Brookings Institution
Catholic Legal Immigration Network
National Conference of State Legislatures
National Immigration Forum
Carnegie Corporation of New York
Who's Talking About the Campaign: "The Farmingville Campaign created ‘safety zones’ where people could speak honestly about what is and isn’t working as we try to integrate immigrants into civic life today." -Daranee Petsod
Executive Director, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees
Campaign Timeline: 2004 – 2008
The New Americans
About the Campaign: The New Americans, produced by Kartemquin Films (Hoop Dreams), is a landmark PBS miniseries that reveals the remarkable sweep of immigrant experiences through the stories of a diverse group of immigrants and refugees who leave their homes and families behind and come to live in America.
Project Activities:
Extensive pre- and post-broadcast coalition-building activities in North Carolina, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Iowa, Indiana and other "new immigrant gateways"
Sector-specific events for organizations including the National Conference of State Legislators, League of Women Voters chapters and youth media groups
Ongoing use of Kartemquin Films and Active Voice's video modules in educator training, immigrant civic education courses, classrooms and workplace sensitivity efforts
Updated resources for an encore broadcast and the series' DVD release (in 2009–2010)
Partners (partial list):
Association of American Colleges and Universities
Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees
Independent Television Service
Migration Policy Institute
Kartemquin Films
Carnegie Corporation of New York, Ford Foundation, James Irvine Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Zellerbach Family Foundation
Who's Talking About the Campaign: "The New Americans is a learning opportunity for foundations. It helps us examine our changing communities, what it means to be a 'new American,' how we can integrate immigrants into our communities and, as philanthropists, who we’re accountable to." -Daranee Petsod
Executive Director, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees
Campaign Timeline: 2000 – 2009
Off to War
About the Campaign: Active Voice worked in collaboration with the filmmakers and Investigation Discovery to move beyond the prowar/antiwar debate and spark a productive dialogue about the human costs of armed conflict in the 21st century.
Project Activities:
Journalist-hosted community forums featuring Guardsmembers, the filmmakers, opinion leaders and family members
First-time conversations about the hidden effects of war for many civilian soldiers, their families and their communities
Diverse partners, such as Hands On Atlanta and the League of Women Voters of Louisville, KY, gaining experience in film-based facilitated dialogue
Partners (partial list):
Investigation Discovery (formerly the Discovery Times Channel)
Downtown Community Television
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, University of Nebraska
Ford Foundation
Who's Talking About the Campaign: "The Off to War community forum in Atlanta was an eye-opener…it created dialogue, made us think and even encouraged people to share their own personal stories about their experiences with war." -Gillian Renault
President, Renault Communications
Campaign Timeline: 2005
Race to Execution
About the Campaign: Active Voice forged partnerships with a range of organizations committed to criminal justice, racial justice and journalism education to deepen and broaden the national dialogue on race bias and the death penalty.
Project Activities:
Forums for journalists that inspired professional discussions about race bias and the need for more critical reporting about the death penalty
Guided conversations about race and criminal justice among new audiences, including people of faith, communities of color and journalists
Increased news coverage of and public dialogue around racial disparities in death penalty sentencing
Access to film clips and related resources for 800 high school and college teachers nationwide via the Death Penalty Information Center’s online curriculum
Partners (partial list):
Annenberg Institute for Justice and Journalism, University of Southern California (USC)
Center for Justice in Capital Cases, DePaul University
Lioness Media Arts, Inc.
Ford Foundation
Who's Talking About the Campaign: "Our screening of Race to Execution and the following roundtable discussion helped participating journalists see new angles that they hadn’t thought about before… It truly deepened their knowledge about the death penalty in relation to race." -Steve Montiel
Director, USC Annenberg Institute for Justice and Journalism
Campaign Timeline: 2006 – 2008
Worlds Apart / Hold Your Breath
About the Campaign: Working with some of the country’s most prestigious medical schools, Active Voice launched a robust campaign to foster cultural sensitivity in medical and health care settings throughout the United States.
Project Activities:
Special screenings at universities nationwide that featured prominent doctors, policymakers and leaders of ethnic communities
New collaborations between hospitals, city agencies and immigrant-serving organizations
Medical schools across the country included Worlds Apart as part of their required cultural competency curriculum
Partners (partial list):
Harvard Medical School
The Joint Commission
Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics
The Commonwealth Fund
Who's Talking About the Campaign: "The Hold Your Breath screening that we hosted at Harvard was noted by many of my colleagues as the most interesting cross-cultural health care event they’d ever attended." -Alexander Green, MD
Institute for Health Policy, Massachusetts General Hospital
Campaign Timeline: 2004 – 2006
A Class Apart
About the Campaign:
The landmark legal case Hernandez v. Texas raises important questions about inclusion, American identity and equality before the law that are as resonant today as ever. Partnering with a range of organizations, Active Voice is raising awareness of an overlooked chapter in the history of America’s fastest growing ethnic group.
Project Activities:
Impromptu “A Class Apart, A Night Together” screenings and watch parties on campuses and in communities nationwide, supported by downloadable resource guides
Intergenerational events honoring World War II veterans and their struggles for equality and respect
Sneak preview events that deepen relationships between Latino leaders, public television stations, elected officials and film festivals
Partners (partial list):
American Constitution Society
American Experience
American GI Forum
The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities
The League of United Latin American Citizens
Camino Bluff Productions
Meadows Foundation
Who's Talking About the Campaign: "…One of the most successful programs the Center for Mexican American Studies & Research has presented in the past two years."
-Sister Maria Eva Flores
Director, Center for Mexican American Studies & Research, Our Lady of the Lake University
Campaign Timeline: 2008 – 2009
Photo Credits: Lee (Russell) Photograph Collection: Spanish Speaking People of Texas
Center for American History UT-Austin; San Antonio Light Collection, UTSA’s Institute of Texan Cultures, Courtesy of the Hearst Corporation; John J Herrera Collection, Houston Public Library
Child Brides: Stolen Lives
About the Campaign:
Working closely with NOW on PBS, Active Voice built partnerships with international organizations working in Kenya, Guatemala, India, Mexico and Ethiopia that want to incorporate the documentary into their on-the-ground work with communities and into orientation materials for volunteers working abroad.
Project Activities:
Global conversations about child marriage, including among populations as remote as Masaai communities in Kenya, that address the concerns of young girls in new and exciting ways
International aid workers and educators using the film and facilitators' guide to address the issue of early marriage in the communities they serve
A smartphone application that will enable volunteers to help translate the film into multiple languages on the go, extending the accessibility of the film abroad
Partners (partial list):
BEADS for Education
The Extraordinaries
International Rescue Committee (IRC)
The Population Council
NOW on PBS
Who's Talking About the Film: "…I really like the cross-cultural perspective on the issue of child marriage… There were striking scenes in every country...all incredibly moving."
-Carrie Berg
Youth and Livelihoods Program Manager, IRC
Campaign Timeline: 2008 – 2009
New Muslim Cool
About the Campaign: Supported by national and grassroots partners from across sectors and faiths, Active Voice is spearheading a community engagement campaign designed to spark critical conversations among diverse groups around America, especially youth and interfaith groups.
Project Activities:
Sneak preview screenings and watch parties around the country
Interfaith dialogue hosted by youth- and action-oriented groups
Crossover conversations among people of different faiths, races, classes and cultures
Vibrant social networking via YouTube, Ning and Facebook to promote the film, events and critical online discussion
Partners (partial list):
Hip-Hop Summit Action Network
The Inner-City Muslim Action Network
Interfaith Youth Core
P.O.V.
Specific Pictures
Voto Latino
Who's Talking About the Film: "While the film transcends race, ethnicity, class and religion, the setting, scenes and scope all reaffirm the universality of one humanity. New Muslim Cool, like hip-hop culture, is all about irrepressible social transformation and empowerment."
-Dr. Ben Chavis
President and CEO, Hip-Hop Summit Action Network
Campaign Timeline: 2006 – 2009
Renewal
About the Campaign:
In rural communities, suburbs and cities, people of faith are rolling up their sleeves to save the environment. Offering a mix of practical information and personal stories, the Renewal Campaign is helping individuals and communities reexamine what it means to be human and how we live on this planet.
Project Activities:
Web-based networking among a wide range of faith-based organizations, secular environmental groups, land trusts and congregations (mosques, churches, synagogues, land-based religious settings, temples and more)
Partnerships with and resources for organizations ranging from the National Council of Churches to the Humane Society
Incorporation of the film to environmental schools and seminaries of diverse faith traditions
Partners (partial list):
Auburn Media
Interfaith Power and Light
Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock
E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation
Who's Talking About the Campaign: "The religious-environmental movement is potentially key to dealing with the greatest problems humans have ever faced, and it has never been captured with more breadth and force than in Renewal."
-Bill McKibben
environmentalist and author of The End of Nature
Campaign Timeline: 2007 – 2009
Shelby Knox Redux
About the Campaign:
Initiated in response to several recent murders of LGBT youth, Active Voice’s Welcoming Conversations project will share the Knox family’s story with congregations across California as a catalyst to help parents, teens and communities of faith to have more open dialogue around sexuality, inclusion and affirmation.
Project Activities:
Guided intergenerational dialogue between parents and teens about sexuality and sexual orientation, especially in families of faith
Support for congregations that are having conversations about being more welcoming to LGBT community members
Community events that bring together churches, grassroots organizations and young people to foster tolerance and respect for LGBT people
Partners (partial list):
California Council of Churches
California Faith for Equality
Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry
Parents, Families, & Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG)
Ford Foundation
Who's Talking About the Film: "I found [the film] honest, inspiring and motivating. It made me think 'What have I done lately?'"
-Joseph Tolton
Founder and Pastor of Rehoboth Temple Christ Conscious Church, New York, NY
Campaign Timeline: 2008 – 2009
Advise & Dissent
Advise & Dissent, an award-winning film by David Van Taylor, examines the future of the Supreme Court and reveals the little-known activists who are re-shaping American politics.
About the Campaign:
Never before has a filmmaker ventured behind the lines and into the trenches of the Supreme Court confirmation wars. With unprecedented access to senators and lobbyists, the film chronicles the collision of politics and justice in the Roberts, Miers and Alito battles.
With funding from the Ford Foundation, Active Voice and Lumiere Productions created The First Monday Launch, a campaign tied to the first Monday in October – the day the Supreme Court traditionally begins its new term. Designed to spark a national dialogue about the current judicial selection process, and in partnership with many of the nation's top law schools, The First Monday Launch catalyzed frank and practical discussions about competing visions of justice.
Project Activities:
Screenings and high level panel discussions on improving the confirmation process at 10 top law schools including Columbia Law School (with Professor Olatunde Johnson), Stanford Constitutional Law Center (with Professor Michael McConnell), and George Washington University (with Professor Jeffrey Rosen), among others.
First Monday Launch Event Planning Guide, which provides technical support to law scholars and students interested in exploring long-term, systemic issues raised by the film and their solutions, is available to help facilitate screenings of Advice & Dissent on college campuses and in local communities nationwide.
Partners (partial list):
Law Schools:
Columbia Law School
Florida A&M University College of Law
George Washington University Law School
Georgetown University Law Center
Georgia State University College of Law
Stanford Law School
Touro Law Center
UC Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law
Washington College of Law at American University
Yale Law School
Partner Organizations:
American Constitution Society
Society of American Law Teachers (SALT)
Third Branch Conference
Who's Talking About the Campaign: "A fascinating, balanced insider's look at the stakes and strategies of the confirmation wars."
-Tom Goldstein Publisher of SCOTUSblog
"Brilliant!"
-Howard Fineman Newsweek Chief Political Correspondent
About the Campaign: With funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Participant Media and Active Voice created the Ingredients for Change Campaign, a year-long initiative that included a series of 30 Food, Inc. community engagement screenings and discussions. Events were held in underserved communities across the country that are disproportionately affected by a lack of access to affordable healthy food and high rates of obesity and other diet-related health problems.
Project Activities:
30 community-engagement screenings nationwide in under-resourced areas, organized in conjunction with local advocacy organizations and accompanied by panel discussions and facilitated community dialogues.
Action and resource guides in English and Spanish to help organizations prompt fruitful conversations and mobilize community members.
An Ingredients for Change peer-learning network to share best practices and sustain long-term advocacy efforts at local and state levels, captured in a quarterly newsletter, blog and user-generated content.
Partners (partial list):
New Orleans Food Policy Advisory Committee (Louisiana)
Central California Regional Obesity Prevention Program (Fresno, CA)
Hartford Food System (Connecticut)
Rio Arriba Community Health Council (New Mexico)
Healthy Youth Partnership (St. Louis, MO)
Participant Media
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Who's Talking About the Campaign: "The event overall proved to be very successful in getting residents engaged and resulted in identifying new partners who are excited to collaborate with CCROPP on a number of food issues. … We really appreciate the opportunity to work with Active Voice and look forward to becoming more involved in the Ingredients for Change national campaign."
-Central California Regional Obesity Prevention Program
Campaign Timeline: June 2009 – May 2010
Greensboro: Closer to the Truth
About the Campaign:
Many communities have histories of social and racial injustice that have never been resolved; left alone, these tensions fester and grow. Using the documentary as an icebreaker, Active Voice’s Closer to the Truth Project will work with grassroots organizations across America to encourage deep and sustainable dialogue that promotes community healing.
Project Activities:
Partnerships with a host of grassroots organizations from Oakland, CA to Charlottesville, VA to tackle concerns like racial reconciliation, tribal counter-narratives and economic justice
Technical support for community-building forums, event-planning assistance and strategic framing consultations
An interactive website that encourages partners across the country to learn from each other and connect with resources such as the Transitions Framework and transitional justice experts
Partners (partial list):
International Center for Transitional Justice
Andrus Family Fund
Who's Talking About the Film: "Zucker's documentary holds out for the possibility of community healing and long-term solutions to racial hatred."
-Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle
Campaign Timeline: 2009 – 2010
Have You Heard From Johannesburg?
About the Campaign: Active Voice helped to design a multi-country Have You Heard media and community engagement campaign to coincide with the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and the 20th anniversary of the release of Nelson Mandela. The ongoing effort uses the decades-long anti-apartheid struggle and its unprecedented victory to inspire veteran and emerging “global citizens” around the world.
Project Activities:
Sneak preview screenings in key markets around the globe
International broadcasts (in conjunction with Steps International) and watch parties in early 2010
A digital and community-based campaign to promote global dialogue about human rights and the role of international citizen movements
Training tools, available on the web and on DVD, focused on activism in sports, corporate responsibility and youth leadership
Partners (partial list):
Clarity Films
Steps International
Ford Foundation
Who's Talking About the Series: "The capacity of this [series] to bring people together across generations and borders is truly powerful—to galvanize us and let us know we have the ability in our hands to fix what is broken, both personally and politically."
-Donna Katzin
Executive Director, Shared Interest
Campaign Timeline: 2009 – 2010
Out in the Silence
About the Campaign:
Active Voice helped filmmakers Joe Wilson and Dean Hamer prepare for the community launch of their film by providing strategic guidance and partnership development aimed at helping enhance LGBT inclusion in rural areas and underserved communities.
Campaign Activities:
Community screenings in small towns and rural areas geared toward giving voice to LGBT residents and sparking the involvement of new allies.
Youth-led peer-to-peer screenings at high schools and colleges around the country, including a series of events in conjunction with GLSEN’s National Day of Silence.
Use of the film as a resource by local and national organizations, educators and attorneys to spark dialogue and coalition-building around LGBT inclusion.
Partners (partial list):
Parents, Families, & Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG)
Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN)
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
Equality Federation
Rural Organizing Project
James H. Bryson Fund of the Philadelphia Foundation
The award-winning Out in the Silence continues to be a much sought-after resource with an active engagement campaign; for more information, please visit www.outinthesilence.com.
Campaign Timeline: 2009 – 2010
Trouble the Water
About the Campaign:
In partnership with PolicyLink—a leading national research and action institute dedicated to advancing economic and social equity—Active Voice is leveraging Trouble the Water to build a broader base of support for policy reform around equitable development in the Gulf Coast.
Project Activities:
Strategic, policy-focused screenings in the Gulf Coast and in communities where those displaced by Hurricane Katrina have resettled to strengthen support for equitable development
Youth spoken word workshops and performances inspired by the film
Katrina evacuees speaking out about their experiences and the region’s ongoing struggles
Partners (partial list):
Elsewhere Films
PolicyLink
Surdna Foundation
Who's Talking About the Campaign: "Trouble the Water serves as an immediate call to action. It requires you to question what you have been told, to seek real truths, and to engage others to fight social indifference and neglect."
-Nicole Lee
Executive Director, TransAfrica Forum
Campaign Timeline: 2008 – 2010
The Visitor
About the Campaign:
Throughout the theatrical, post-theatrical and DVD distribution, Active Voice has been organizing special screenings and community discussions to shine light on local detention centers and help audiences connect to on-the-ground advocates.
Project Activities:
Heightened awareness about immigrant detention issues among new, "crossover" audiences in more than 30 communities to date
New "visitors" signing up to meet and support detainees
Increased visibility for national and local NGOs and community-based organizations
Legal training for pro bono attorneys to defend detainees in bond hearings
Partners (partial list):
Detention Watch Network
National Immigrant Justice Center
National Legal Sanctuary for Community Advancement
O’Melveny & Meyers
Participant Media
Open Society Institute
Who's Talking About the Campaign: "…An exciting opportunity to present issues of immigration detention and enforcement to a broad, mainstream community…"
-Michelle Garnett McKenzie
Advocacy Director, Advocates for Human Rights
Campaign Timeline: 2007 – 2010
Photo Credit: JoJo Whildon
Barbershop Punk
Barbershop Punk tells the groundbreaking story of Robb Topolski, who challenged the nation's largest cable company, Comcast, after discovering they blocked the barbershop quartet music he was legally sharing online. Filmmakers Georgia Archer and Kristin Armfield propel viewers onto the fast lane of the internet super highway, shedding light on the "punks" – from the Christian Coalition to the Songwriter's Guild of America – who are striving to keep the internet accessible to everyone.
About the Campaign: While the filmmakers take Barbershop Punk on the festival circuit, Active Voice is developing national partnerships, program strategies and resource materials to support the use of Barbershop Punk as an educational tool for internet policy options.
Project Activities:
Campus screenings that raise awareness among students and their larger communities, sometimes in conjunction with festival events.
Materials for student audiences, advocacy groups and community leaders to educate and frame discussions about the intricacies of internet policy.
Social media and mobile outreach to link new "punks" to national resources.
Partners (partial list):
Free Press/Save The Internet
Future of Music Coalition
Roosevelt Campus Network
Writer's Guild of America (West)
Ford Foundation
Who's Talking About the Film: "Barbershop Punk explores what ordinary people can do to promote the free exchange of information in cyberspace."
-MTV.com
About the Campaign: Currently in development, The Calling engagement project will use national networks, screenings, educational materials and a broad online platform to help people push past the stereotypes and cartoonish images of religion today. The complex and highly accessible characters we meet in The Calling will spark connections among people of many faiths—ideally enabling community building and social action.
Project Activities:
Interactive websites, developed by nonprofit communications leader See3 Communications, where viewers will participate in digital storytelling and contests like "What’s Your Calling?"
Community-based screenings and other activities across the country for churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, faith-based community groups, public television stations and afterschool programs that foster long-term collaboration
About the Campaign: Ever since Connected premiered at Sundance in January 2011, audiences around the world have been inspired by the documentary's personal examination of the meanings of interdependence. In fall 2011, as the film geared up for its US theatrical release, Active Voice worked with the Moxie Institute to convene a braintrust meeting among leaders in technology, human rights and the environment to understand how the films might be integrated into their work as a way to promote a more interdependent understanding of the world.
After the braintrust, Active Voice refined the campaign strategy to focus on engaging organizations around Let It Ripple: Mobile Films for Global Change, a series of short films that picks up where the documentary leaves off. The first film, A Declaration of Interdependence, is a globally crowdsourced rewriting of the US Declaration of Independence, featuring original music by Moby. When Moxie gave organizations the opportunity to customize the short film with their own brand and call to action, Active Voice worked to recruit partners and help them craft inspiring actions that promote interdependence. Partners have excitedly embraced this unusual collaboration (some samples can be found here) and Moxie plans to replicate this successful model with future Let it Ripple films.
About the Campaign: Make Agent Orange History is a collaborative effort to raise awareness of the long-term effects of Agent Orange in Vietnam, highlight solutions to the problem and connect individuals and organizations with opportunities to get involved. With an interactive website, social media campaign and a slew of events occurring nationwide, this effort integrates online community-building with offline engagement to demonstrate that Agent Orange is a humanitarian concern we can do something about.
Project Activities:
Increased awareness of the legacy of Agent Orange/dioxin in Vietnam.
Online community-building among people who have a shared interest in ending the legacy of Agent Orange in Vietnam.
Events in communities around the country geared toward generating support for environmental cleanup and rehabilitation for millions of affected Vietnamese.
Partners (partial list):
Aspen Institute
Communications Consortium Media Center
Common Cause
Rotary Club of San Francisco
Ford Foundation
Who's Talking About the Campaign: "Our Make Agent Orange History event was enriching for the faculty who were involved in coordinating it, community members who attended and especially to students who participated."
-Anne Marie Smoke Program Manager Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution
Shelbyville Multimedia introduces you to the cast of Welcome to Shelbyville, a handful of straight-talking people in rural Tennessee who are taking immigration into their own hands—by welcoming newcomers. With many components adapted from the documentary produced and directed by Kim A. Snyder and executive produced by Active Voice in association with the BeCause Foundation, Shelbyville Multimedia is a platform to promote community-building and harmony between native-born Americans, immigrants and refugees nationwide.
About the Campaign:
Inspired by the residents of Shelbyville, who pushed past their fears and faced the rapid demographic changes in their town, Shelbyville Multimedia provides story-based tools, events and resources to help communities become more welcoming to newcomers.
Project Activities:
Screenings of the documentary in policy, faith-based and community settings around the country.
A national broadcast on the PBS series Independent Lens in May 2011.
Shorter video "modules" of compelling storylines tailored for service providers and community leaders to use as training tools:
"Hawo's Dinner Party: The New Face of Southern Hospitality" tells the story of Hawo, a Somali nurse turned poultry-packer in Shelbyville, Tennessee. This 30-minute video supports community leaders who help integrate newcomers from Muslim-majority countries.
"Building a Nation of Neighbors" is a 25-minute video that hones in on select scenes that exemplify the Welcoming America model of strategically creating harmony and welcoming, while providing additional context on how it can work for a range of communities and audiences.
A comprehensive website featuring webisodes, in-depth character profiles, discussion guides, event planning toolkits and resources for getting your community involved.
Partners (partial list):
BeCause Foundation
Welcoming America
Who's Talking About the Campaign: "Active Voice, through the Shelbyville Multimedia project, is leveraging the tools of convergence culture in our age of democratized information creation and distribution to create healthier and more whole communities. Shelbyville Multimedia is indeed a model for the future of messaging with action agendas working toward a more enlightened society."
-John Bruce
Free Range Studios, Strategist
About the Campaign:
Active Voice’s first museum project is helping families learn about the experiences and needs of refugees, both in their own communities and around the world. Throughout the project’s four-year national tour, Active Voice will cultivate partnerships with children’s museums and local organizations to deepen the exhibit’s impact and put this global issue in a local context.
Project Activities:
Cross-cultural, newsworthy museum events involving youth groups, elected officials and community leaders
Tie-in film screenings that reveal why people leave their homes and shed light on the real-life experiences of refugees in America today
Opportunities for families to support local refugees through donations, volunteering and networking
Partners (partial list):
Lied Discovery Children’s Museum
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Unbound Philanthropy
Who's Talking About the Campaign: "I will never forget this experience at the Discovery Center. Hopefully, others who see this exhibit will begin to open their own eyes and give a little back to some people who really need our help."
-Student visitor
Don Harrington Discovery Center, Amarillo, TX (first site on the national tour)
Campaign Timeline: 2008 – 2013
70 Zoe Street, Suite 100, San Francisco, CA 94107 T 415.487.2000 F 415.487.2260 Einfo@activevoice.net
