In the last 10 years, documentaries are increasingly being recognised as a key medium for communicating social justice issues and inspiring social change. There have been high-profile examples, including Supersize Me, An Inconvenient Truth, Sicko, The Cove, The Age of Stupid – and many more such films are being made.

But there is widespread lack of understanding about how the social impact of such media should be monitored and reported and a lack of templates and tools to assist them. Many films rely on anecdotal evidence or common sense to establish their impact and the lack of hard evidence presented can lead to cynicism that films achieve anything other than entertainment. More here

To begin this module we will be examining the role of documentary in social change: looking at a number of filmmakers, activists and advocacy groups who use documentary to make an impact and create social change.

Here are a few examples that were nominated for the Impact Award’ from Current TV which rewards the films that have made the most social impact:

and here are some of the trailers and the impact that the films made:

The End of the Line (2009), the winner of the award, reveals the impact of overfishing on our oceans.

Impact Highlights:

• Raised £6m to launch the Blue Marine Foundation, dedicated to creating a global network of marine reserves
• Had significant impact on supermarket and consumer brands – from sandwich chain Pret A Manger to cat food brands Sheba and Whiskas all moving to use sustainably-sourced fish
• Used as a strategic lobbying tool in both the UK and European parliaments to engage politicians in the issue of over-fishing

The Age of Stupid (2009). An archivist from the year 2055 looks back on footage to ask: why didnt we do anything about climate change while we still had the chance.

Impact Highlights:

• Launched the 10:10 Global campaign in 46 countries, with over 100,000 individuals signing up alongside corporations and government departments, pledging to cut 10% of emissions
• Launched the “Global Day of Doing” (10:10:10) coordinating over 7,000 local carbon cutting events in 188 countries
• Raised almost £1m to sustain the 10:10 campaign

Burma VJ (2009). Using smuggled/undercover footage from Burma (a country that is ‘closed to the press’) this documentary tells the story of the 2007 protests by thousands of monks.

Impact Highlights:

• With an estimated 30 million viewers, Burma VJ put the issue of Burma firmly on the international agenda
• The ensuing political pressure helped bring about the release of Aung San Suu Kyi
• Inspired a new generation of VJs and independent journalists within Burma

The Reckoning (2009) – Following the story of a prosecutor for the International Criminal Court attempts to enforce international laws against war crimes and genocide.

Impact Highlights:

• The film team distributed, free of charge, screening kits to over 600 NGOs from 78 countries, to raise awareness of the International Criminal Court
• Used extensively in education programmes including a 2-week ‘Teach the Reckoning’ workshop bringing together 700 educators from 70 countries representing a network of over 25,000 high school teachers
• Used widely in Africa; it supported critical debate within the Kenyan judiciary and triggered an investigation into post-election violence

Trouble the Water (2008) – following the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in the USA

Impact Highlights:

• Repeatedly used in strategic political campaigning; from raising a 20,000-strong letter campaign to the speaker of the House of Representatives, to strategic screenings at the national Democratic and Republican conventions
• Triggered a major lobbying effort by 400 campaigners, including hurricane-survivors and supporters from across the country who travelled to Washington DC for training, advocacy and action.
• Launched a “Share Your Story” campaign to gather hundreds of testimonies from constituents that were used to lobby policy leaders.

Of course each of these productions took several years to develop, produce and distribute but these examples should give you a sense of how campaign films can be a force for change.

Source: creativeactivism.net & www.britdocimpactaward.org