Wrapping up

This guide is about more than just tools and resources, it’s about building community.

As with the process of evaluation, we saw an opportunity to learn about how impact happens and to track how films are catalysing social change. That’s the impetus behind the case studies that make up our Impact Library. We believe that sharing stories of change is inspiring and empowering. This guide is an opportunity for us to learn from each other, to pass on knowledge and equip others in the field.

If you’re embarking on a journey of a social impact documentary, then you’re already part of the community. We are learning and producing alongside you, and there is strength in numbers. We want to know what works and what doesn’t work. We want to know what inspires your work and what hinders it. We want to know what you’re reading and what you’re making. We want to know what change you want to see in the world.

So don’t hesitate to weigh in. Your feedback is our priority.

Your feedback will help to make this a better guide and we will continue to edit and grow these resources to help you along the way. To produce case studies and share stories of change to help inform your work.

As with filmmaking, this guide would not be a reality without an extensive team of partners and thought leaders. Thank you to Sahar Driver, who masterminded the edit of this second edition, to Jon Alexander and Irenie Ekkeshis who worked on the first, the three of whom turned the wisdom of the field into a compelling & useful narrative change toolkit. 

Huge love to the filmmakers, the Impact Producers, Impact funders, cultural organisers and academics who contributed generous ideas & thoughtful feedback. For this second edition, we want to give thanks to; Brenda Coughlin, Abby Davis, Dina de Veer, Jad Abi-Khalil, Macky Alston, Abigail Anketell-Jones, Lindsay Green Barber, Julia Bacha, Kylie Boltin, Jeffrey Bowers, Caitlin Boyle, Marco Cartolano, Giuliano Cavalli, Sonya Childress, Inti Cordera, Santhosh Daniel, Fiona Dawson, Cristine Platt Dewey, Jo-Jo Ellison, Violet Feng, Deirdre Fishel, Edie Gill Holder, Amelia Hapsari, Lee Hirsch, Will Jenkins, Anita Khanna, Judy Kibinge, Fiona Lawson-Baker, Rachel Lears, Sheila Leddy, Alex Lee, Wendy Levy, John Lightfoot, Kathleen Lingo, Mary Macrae, Ani Mercedes, Molly Murphy, Joanna Natasegara, Ina Pira, Michael Premo, Alice Quinlan, Khushboo Ranka, Larissa Rhodes, Theo Rigby, Flor Rubina, Ellen Schneider, Sydelle Willow Smith, Michèle Stephenson, Fran Sterling, Paulina Suárez, Sandra Tabares-Duque, Jennifer Maytorena Taylor, Poh Si Teng, Ilse van Velzen, Sophy Sivaraman, Lynette Wallworth, Emily Wanja, Banker White, Malinda Wink, Samantha Wright, Pamela Yates, Luis González Zaffaroni, Amy Ziering. Plus the team of international reviewers who read the darn thing and made sure it made sense. This included Burcu Melekoglu, Caro Macdonald, Daniel Simons, Eirin Gjorv, Eric Juhola, Erin Sorensen, Irene Zabytko, Jamie Goncalves, JoAnne Fishburn, Judy Hatcher, Laura Wilson, Sanjay Rawal, Simone Pero, Tim Horsburgh, Vuslat Karan & Angelica Das. 

And finally: thank you to you, the reader, for sharing in our belief in the power of social impact film. We salute you. We are big fans of your work.