Bridging our Past with the Future
To celebrate our 30th Anniversary we have created a media arts animation project focused on the science of climate change.
We provide opportunities for young and emerging filmmakers to make innovative films about climate change, engage in community dialog, and find new, creative ways of dissemination. It’s a modest fund intended to catalyze important short films on the impact of climate change.
MWG’S mission is to provide capacity and encourage independent media. As part of our 30th anniversary in 2017 we created a program to bridge our past with the future. The Change 21c Documentary Fund is designed to encourage young and emerging filmmakers to make films about climate change.
Change 21c will spark the creation of high quality, artistic, and relevant story-based films, which address climate change. Climate change is affecting us all whether it is acknowledged or not. It is the time for artists to use their skills and creativity to address this crisis, providing the public with different creative views of what’s possible. In the 1970s there were programs in the arts world called ‘artists animating democracy.’ This is a ‘film artists animating public response to climate change.’ Successful participants will have seed money to seek further support and will feel supported by their peers.
A panel of jurors representing environmental organizations, and filmmakers engaged in climate change, awarded the first, of hopefully many, small grants of between $1,000 to $5,000 to support these documentary projects.
We look for non-fiction stories grounded in the science of climate change; its impact on humans, animals and plant life. Since we are targeting young and emerging filmmakers we will present a series of screenings and workshops that will provide professional development and insight into environmentally focused filmmaking. Mentorship includes story development, treatment writing, working with community partners, creating study guides.
Two projects are in progress: Seed Man about two farmers who switched from growing tobacco to native grasses and seeds; The Cosmology of Wes Jackson about the MacArthur Fellow who was castigated for speaking out about the fossil fuel industry and the imminent threat of climate change in the 1990s.
If you would like to participate email us at mail@mwg.org and tell us what you’d like to do, your budget and how we can help.