The State of SIE

Partnering with Participant Media, UCLA TFT and other key thought leaders and SIE experts, we have created a world-class report that maps the landscape of SIE, examines frameworks for measurement, establishes best practices, highlights key issues, and establishes generally-accepted impact principles (where measurement is not possible).

It is our hope that this report will serve as the foundation for research and collaboration in this field. It will be the first of an ongoing publication, each diving deeper into specific sectors and issues within the field more broadly. The report includes thought-pieces from key leaders, scholars, and industry luminaries, case studies, data, as well as a map of the ecosystem.

Our target audience for the report is those in the entertainment industries (narrative film, documentary, television, digital short form, theater, VR/AR and media for development) that already are, should be or could be thinking about the social impact of their work; those who support and study social impact entertainment whether it be at major colleges and universities or at leading nonprofit organizations; and students, who we view as the next generation of social impact entertainment practitioners.

The report includes interviews with 50+ contributors in this evolving space, including Leonardo DiCaprio (Oscar-winning actor and activist), Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda), Dustin Lance Black (Milk), Tom McCarthy (Spotlight), Joshua Oppenheimer (The Act of Killing), Fisher Stevens (Before the Flood), Eve Ensler (The Vagina Monologues), Bonnie Abaunza (social impact campaign strategist), David Linde (CEO, Participant Media), Pat Mitchell (Former President and CEO of PBS and the Paley Center for Media), Tabitha Jackson (Sundance Institute), Beadie Finzi and Jess Search (Doc Society), Cathy Schulman (Oscar-winning producer and President Emerita of Women in Film), Geralyn Dreyfous (Impact Partners and Utah Film Center), Shabnam Mogharabi and Rainn Wilson (SoulPancake), Cara Mertes (Ford Foundation), Teri Schwartz (Dean, UCLA TFT), Reginald Hudlin (Marshall), and Gina Prince-Bythewood (Love & Basketball).

You can read and download the report here.

Find articles by topic:

Introduction

Teri Schwartz: Welcome note

Peter Bisanz: The State of Social Impact Entertainment (SIE) introduction

Narrative Film

How Milk captured a watershed LGBT moment in history

How Spotlight shows detail is everything when highlighting an issue

The power of film to show ordinary people doing extraordinary things

How The Day After Tomorrow put climate change on the map

To move and empower people you need a really good story

The Hidden Figures film campaign shows why it’s worth going the extra mile

Why is it a fight for filmmakers to tell the stories that need to be told?

For a film to make a real difference weave social impact into the storytelling

Documentary Film

How an innovative strategy gave Before the Flood a record-breaking audience

Why is uncomfortable viewing frequently the most impactful?

Doc Society works to harness the magic of film, but how?

How Chasing Ice micro-targeted film viewers to affect real change

Why story should always come before entertainment in documentary films

Why imagination is the vital component when it comes to social change

How documentaries can be used to transform information into inspiration

Impact is important but it needs to be quantified to make a difference

Television

The revolution will be televised via public service broadcasting

Why do producers and writers need to keep a finger on the pulse?

Why a show needs to join the public zeitgeist to make a lasting difference

How Will & Grace proved the contact hypothesis of psychological theory

Theater

How The Vagina Monologues demonstrates the power of theatre

Can theater be considered the most essential artform of democracy?

Using the immediacy and intimacy of theatre to champion diversity

How does storytelling hold a mirror up to society?

Emerging Forms

Finding a sense of meaning, purpose, and identity in short form content

Why is less more when it comes to digital short form content?

Is VR the perfect tool to make people feel and connect to an issue?

SIE Agenda

How can storytelling spark people’s inner activist and inspire change?

Why social impact campaigns need the right partners behind them

Far from being a luxury, increased diversity is a business imperative

Why changing an industry means transforming it from the top down

Can we handle conflict and build sustainable peace through media?

The Bigger Picture

How do stories hold infinite power to inspire social impact?

Entertainment in its many forms is the great shaper of culture

To create substantial social impact the bigger the idea the better

Why convening and collaborating makes for the greatest impact

Delivering social impact with a community rather than for a community

How can filmmakers be empowered to tell the stories that matter?

Focus where the need is greatest and the intervention most strategic

Can equity investing provide effective funding for social impact films?

Are a film’s production values just as important as a compelling story?

Why collaboration is at the heart of social impact entertainment

Built on multiple partnerships an independent film is anything but

The State of SIE