filmanthropy

Filmanthropy is the use of cinematography — typically but not exclusively the documentary movie — to raise awareness and money for a charity or cause. It can be thought of as a new tool for social change, philanthropy with a movie camera.

Unlike other socially conscious documentaries, the projects in this genre are typically initiated and funded by people outside the film industry or who made their money outside the industry.

Movies that are examples of filmanthropy include Nanking by Ted Leonsis; and An Inconvenient Truth and Fast Food Nation by Participant Productions (founded by Jeffrey Skoll, formerly of eBay).

Last updated: January 25, 2007.

Here's a new tool if you're a socially conscious entrepreneur with a desire to make the world a better place — fund and produce films about the causes that are closest to your heart. It's called filmanthropy:

"And now that he's made one film [Nanking], [Ted] Leonsis thinks he's latched onto a Big Idea: He fancies using a 'filmanthropy' model to make future projects with a social bent.
"'It's where you can shed light on a big issue. You raise the money around your charity and make something that can drive people to understand an issue...'"

Link: Leonsis's 'Filmanthropy' Plants a Seed With Buddies - washingtonpost.com

Posted January 25, 2007.

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