Case Studies

State of Fear, a project of Skylight Pictures, is a longform documentary film at the center of a multiplatform local/global strategic human rights and social justice campaign. The film dramatizes the human and social costs of a twenty- year politicized “war on terror” (1980-2000) in Peru, and its contemporary resonance in a post 9/11 world. It poses the question, “How can an open society balance demands for security with democracy?” and demonstrates the positive example of Truth and Reconciliation Commissions for restorative justice.

Out in the Silence is a feature-length documentary film that shows how the citizens of a small, conservative town in western Pennsylvania confronted homophobia within the boundaries of religion and tradition. An active
outreach campaign designed to reach small towns and rural communities nationwide accompanied regional and national PBS broadcasts and festival screenings. The film and campaign, which have fortified a national network
of LGBT and civil rights, support organizations reaching underserved communities with special focus on engaging young people.

Lioness is a feature-length documentary film that dramatizes the increasing role of U.S. women in combat, despite an official policy banning such assignments. This unrecognized service effectively deprives women combat veterans of benefits granted to men. The film points to the need for military programs and policies that support appropriate professional recognition, training, and health care for women.

This “pro-sex, anti-sexual violence” project from producer/director Nancy Schwartzman addresses the need for communication among young people in a highly sexualized and increasingly permissive society. An extensive outreach campaign centered around a 30-minute film based on one young woman’s experience provides language, information, context and spaces for articulating terms for mutually respectful relationships.

Our 21/2-year multi-media project, Saving The Sierra: Voices of Conservation in Action, is now over. The digital files are all tucked into a nice big hard drive and we've recycled all but the most important papers. But before we head off our next adventure in independent, social issue media making, we'd like to share a few lessons learned along the way that any producer could use in planning a national multiplatform documentary special.