Mara Henderson

Putting Films to Work: How to Move People to Action Using Film

Have you ever watched a documentary (or any film) that made you feel moved to learn more or take action on a specific issue? Working Films believes that films have the power to educate, shift harmful narratives, connect people across communities, and ultimately move people to action.

Film screenings are a highly accessible first step in community education and civic engagement. For example, there are many people who won’t come to a city council meeting as their first means of action, but they WILL come to a film screening, especially if there’s popcorn or food!

This provides a robust space to share about the issues you’re working on, talk about your organizing efforts, have in-depth conversations with community members, and ultimately move people to take action and get involved in your work.

In this interactive workshop, Working Films will share their experiences from over 20 years of using films for change, lift up others’ experiences with using film or art in their work, and share key elements of how to organize strategic, intentional, goals-based film screenings that move people to action.