Events

Good Pitch New York 2012

On May 24, 2012, the Ford Foundation hosts Good Pitch New York 2012. The day-long live event brings together people and organizations who share a commitment to social justice documentary filmmaking. The foundation is hosting the event for the second year in a row.

Seven teams will pitch their documentary films and outreach campaigns to an invited group of foundations, NGOs, advertising and digital agencies, social entrepreneurs and media organizations—providing a unique opportunity to build partnerships around their project that will maximize its impact and reach.

About the Films

This year’s films focus on degenerative illness, immigration, human rights, healthcare, democracy and “America’s War on Drugs.”

Dancing in Jaffa
Directed by Hilla Medalia
Ballroom dancer Pierre Dulaine revisits his childhood city of Jaffa to teach 10-year-old Palestinian and Israeli children how to dance and compete together.

The Genius of Marian
Directed by Banker White
An intimate look at one woman’s battle with Alzheimer’s disease and its impact on immediate family members and generations past.

The State of Arizona
Directed by Carlos Sandoval and Catherine Tambini
The “most controversial immigration law the U.S. has seen in generations” is examined through a diversity of voices and perspectives.

The Supreme Price
Directed by Joanna Lipper
A profile of Hafsat Abiola, a Nigerian leader who challenged the corrupt government that took her family, and legitimized democracy for Nigeria, particularly for marginalized women.

The New Black
Directed by Yoruba Richen
The exploration of the complex history of the African-American and LGBT civil rights movements and the many ways in which they overlap and conflict with one another.

Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare
Directed by Matthew Heineman and Susan Froemke
An exposé of American healthcare as told by the courageous leaders committed to change and the patients they are trying to help.

The House I Live In
Directed by Eugene Jarecki
The award-winning film looks at the breakdown of America’s War on Drugs, with a particular focus on the human rights implications of U.S. drug policy and the nation’s criminal justice system today.

Good Pitch is a project of the Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation in partnership with the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program.

Core support is provided by the Ford Foundation in addition to the Fledgling Fund, Chicken & Egg Pictures, Impact Partners, CrossCurrents Foundation, Wyncote Foundation and anonymous donors.

Since its inception in 2008, Good Pitch events have garnered more than $2.4 million in funding as well as an extensive range of non-fiscal resources, partnerships and expertise from participating organizations. By the end of 2011, more than 90 films were presented at Good Pitch events in London, Oxford, New York, Washington D.C., Toronto and San Francisco.

About Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation

Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation is a UK-based not-for-profit organization backed by Channel 4 TV. It is dedicated to reinventing funding and distribution models for British documentary filmmakers. As well as funding groundbreaking social-issue films (such as double Sundance winner “Afghan Star,” Berlin winner “The Yes Men Fix the World,” Sundance 2009 feature documentary “The End of the Line,” and Tribeca winner “We Are Together”), the foundation brokers relationships between filmmakers and the NGO and brand sectors in the UK to create better, more effective films. Good Pitch is a key part of the foundation’s important work in this area.

About Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program

Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program (DFP) supports contemporary nonfiction filmmakers worldwide with year-round activities, including the Sundance Documentary Fund, Creative Documentary Labs and workshops focusing on the art of documentary, and collaborative partnerships including the Stories of Change initiative with the Skoll Foundation, and major social justice and human rights initiatives with the Open Society Foundations and Ford Foundation among others. The DFP has supported more than 400 films since 1996, including “The Oath,” “Nerakoon: Betrayal,” “Trouble the Water,” “Iraq in Fragments,” “Why We Fight,” and “Long Night’s Journey Into Day.” The DFP is a core program of the Los Angeles-based nonprofit Sundance Institute. Founded by Robert Redford, Sundance Institute is dedicated to the discovery and development of independent artists and audiences.

More Information

• Learn more about Good Pitch New York 2011
• Browse the list of Good partners
• Explore our JustFilms initiative and groundbreaking film collection

Tel

(+1) 212-573-5128

Fax

(+1) 212-351-3643

Email

pressline@fordfoundation.org

Joshua Cinelli

Media Relations Chief

Email

j.cinelli@fordfoundation.org