A guide to help all of us who are working with film, make even more impact.
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The Field Guide has drawn extensively from impact case studies and we highly recommend you also get inspired and empowered. Stand on the shoulders of others!
Of course we also recommend that you watch as many of the full films as possible so you can put together the creative potential with the impact strategy.
All case studies were correct at the time but some teams have continued their work and it is always worth checking on film websites for latest news.
We are also always looking to include great new examples so please email us your suggestions.
The Age of Stupid (2009)
The future of climate changeDirected by Franny Armstrong, produced by Lizzie Gillett
The Act of Killing (2012)
Genocide revisited in IndonesiaDirected by Joshua Oppenheimer, co-directed by Christine Cynn and Anonymous
Armadillo (2010)
The reality of Danish soldiers at war in AfghanistanDirected by Janus Metz
American Promise (2014)
Changing the future for young black men in the US education systemDirected by Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson
Blackfish (2013)
Provoking a huge backlash against SeaWorld known as the ‘Blackfish Effect’Directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite
The ‘Blackfish Effect’ as reported in Business Insider link (2014)
and The Hollywood Reporter and Take Part
Blackfish (2013)
Further resourcesA media impact reporting with Edelman/Strategy One
Budrus (2009)
Nonviolent resistance unites in PalestineDirected by Julia Bacha, produced by Ronit Avni, Rula Salameh and Just Vision
Budrus (2009)
Nonviolent resistance unites in PalestineDirected by Julia Bacha, produced by Ronit Avni, Rula Salameh and Just Vision
Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country (2009)
The brave video journalists of Burma who covered the Saffron RevolutionDirected by Anders Østergaard, produced by Lise Lense-Møller
Chasing Ice (2012)
Gathering undeniable evidence of our changing planetDirected by Jeff Orlowski
CITIZENFOUR (2014)
Mass surveillance and its consequences for personal privacy and public policyDirected by Laura Poitras
Food Chains (2014)
Exploitation of farm workers in the agriculture industry in the USDirected by Sanjay Rawal
Give Up Tomorrow (2011)
Miscarriage of justice in the PhilippinesDirected by Michael Collins, produced by Marty Syjuco
Granito (2011)
With the conviction of a dictator, Granito is a testament to the power of documentary filmDirected by Pamela Yates
Miners Shot Down (2014)
What really happened at the Marikana Massacre in 2012Directed by Rehad Desai
No Fire Zone (2013)
Holding the Sri Lankan government accountable for war crimes during a hidden warDirected by Callum Macrae
The End of the Line (2009)
Time to address global over-fishingDirected by Rupert Murray, produced by George Duffield and Christo Hird. Also available: The End of the Line's Social Impact Evaluation
The House I Live In (2012)
Could this be the beginning of the end for the ‘war on drugs’?Directed by Eugene Jarecki
The Interrupters (2011)
Ex-gang members working to reduce violence in ChicagoDirected by Steve James, produced by Alex Kotlowitz
The Invisible War (2009)
Revealing effects of rape in the US militaryDirected by Kirby Dick, produced by Amy Zierling
The Reckoning (2009)
The work of the International Human Rights CourtDirected by Pamela Yates, produced by Paco Onis
Trouble the Water (2008)
Lives affected by government response to Hurricane KatrinaDirected by Tia Lessin and Carl Deal
Unearthed (2014)
Investigating fracking in the United StatesDirected by Jolynn Minnaar
Virunga (2014)
Africa’s oldest national park under threat from war and miningDirected by Orlando von Einsiedel
Weapon of War (2010)
Discussing rape with perpetrators in the CongoDirected by Ilse and Femke van Velzen
Chasing Coral (2017)
Exposing the death of coral reefs. Galvanizing the climate movement and reaching beyond the choirDirected by Jeff Orlowski
Please Remember Me (2017)
Galvanizing support in China for the dignity and care that people with Alzheimer’s and Dementia deserveDirected by Zhao Qing
Thank You For The Rain (2017)
Elevating the voices and solutions of frontline communities to bolster the climate movement in the global southDirected by Julia Dahr
An Insignificant Man (2017)
Pushing the bounds of free expression and strengthening democracy in IndiaDirected by Khushboo Ranka & Vinay Shukla
Unrest (2017)
Building a global movement to fight for people living with MEDirected by Jennifer Brea
9.70 (2012)
The story of a group of farmers from which the Colombian Government seized and destroyed 70 tons of riceDirected by Victoria Solano
Article in Documentary Television.com which lays out some of the facts figures and strategy behind this box office phenomena
2016 Obama’s America (2012)
Trying to prevent Obama’s re-electionDirected by John Sullivan and Dinesh D’Souza
Always In Season (2019)
Breaking the silence: How documentaries shape the conversation on racial violence in America.Directed by Jacqueline Olive
A Place at the Table (2012)
Peels back the curtain on the problem of food insecurity in AmericaDirected by Kristi Jacobson & Lori Silverbush
Armor of Light (2013)
Follows an Evangelical minister and the mother of a teenage shooting victim who ask, is it possible to be both pro-gun and pro-life?Directed by Abigail Disney & Kathleen Hughes
An Inconvenient Truth (2006)
Al Gore warns climate change is realDirected by Davis Guggenheim
Lejos del Sentido / Away From Meaning (2016)
An intimate personal portrait of Mexican documentalist Olivia Luengas and the struggle of her sister Liliana with the boundary personality disorderDirected by Olivia Luengas
Boy 23 (2016)
Story of 50 orphans who were enslaved by Nazi sympathizers in BrazilDirected by Belisário Franca
Charm City (2018)
A portrait of the police, citizens, and government officials left on the front lines in BaltimoreDirected by Marilyn Ness
The Closer We Get (2015)
The story of dutiful daughter Karen as she returns home to help care for her mother Ann, who has suffered a devastating strokeDirected by Karen Guthrie
Colours of The Alphabet (2016)
Does the future have to be in English? A film about childhood, communication and national identity.Directed by Alastair Cole and Produced by Nick Higgins
Working Films video
Deep Down (2010)
A story from the heart of coal country (US)Directed by Sally Rubin and Jen Gilomen
Escape Fire (2012)
Impact Report produced by Third PlateauDirected by Matthew Heineman and Susan Froemke
Deep Down (2010)
A story from the heart of the coal country (US)Sally Rubin & Jen Gilomen
Everything's Cool (2007)
Science and popular belief in global warmingDirected by Judith Helfand
Escape Fire (2012)
Case Study produced by Fledgling FundDirected by Matthew Heineman and Susan Froemke
Working Films video
Everything’s Cool (2007)
Science and popular belief in global warmingDirected by Judith Helfand
Norman Lear Centre presentation at TEDxPhoenix by Johanna Blakley
Food Inc (2008)
Is the food capitalism produces actually good for us?Directed by Robert Kenner
Inventing Tomorrow (2019)
Teenager innovation across the globe takes on enviormental threatsDirected by Laura Nix
Lioness (2008)
Female combat veterans in USDirected by Meg McLagan and Daria Sommers
Shore Stories (2018)
Addresses the impact of offshore drillingDirected by Savannah & Ogeechee Riverkeeper
Syria's Disappeared (2017)
New evidence reveals a network of clandestine detention camps in SyriaDirected by Sara Asfahar
Working Films video
No Impact Man (2009)
Minimising our personal environmental impactDirected by Laura Gabbert and Justin Schein
Out in the Silence (2009)
Addressing small-town homophobia in the USDirected by Joe Wilson and Dean Hamer
Sea Of Shadows (2019)
An eco thriller about the interplay of corruption and conservationDirected by Richard Ladkani
The Ghosts in Our Machine (2013)
The overlooked animals crucial to our industriesDirected by Liz Marshall
Turning A Movie Into A Movement (Sandi DuBowski) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sandi-dubowski/trembling-before-gd-turni_b_2428257.html
Trembling Before G-d (2001)
Gay and lesbian Orthodox Jews reconciling their sexuality with their faithDirected by Sandi DuBowski
Notes on Blindness (2016)
In 1983, when writer John Hull goes blind just before the birth of his son, he starts making a diary on audio cassette to make sense of all the changesDirected by Peter Middleton & James Spinney
One Mile Away (2012)
The attempts by two warring gangs in inner-city Birmingham, to bring peace to their neighbourhoodsDirected by Penny Woolcock
Out in the Silence (2015)
Addressing small-town homophobia in the USDirected by Joe Wilson & Dean Hamer
Paratodos (2016)
A portrait of eight Brazilian Paralympic athletes since the 2012 London gamesDirected by Marcelo Mesquita & Peppe Sifredi
The Quipu Project (2015)
An interactive documentary about thousands of Peruvians being sterilised in the 90’s without their consentDirected by Maria Court & Rosemarie Lerner
Please Remember Me(2016)
Portrait of growing old with Alzheimers in ShanghaiDirected by Zhao Qing
Raising Bertie (2017)
Three African-American boys as they come of age over the course of six years in Bertie County, N.C.Directed by Margaret Byrne
Welcome To Chechnya (2020)
Highlighting human rights abuses against LGBTQ people in ChechnyaDirected by David France
Who is Dayani Cristal? (2014)
The dangers of the migrant trail in Central AmericaDirected by Marc Silver
