Good Pitch Local
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN DETROIT?
The day will include just over 150 participants, focusing on folks in and from the city of Detroit, and will feature 16 projects pitches plus a small group of out-of-towners who seek to support and amplify this work.
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When:
Tuesday,
July 17th, 2018
9:30am - 5pm -
Where:
The Eastern,
3434 Russell St.,
Detroit, MI 48207 -
Get Invited:
Space is limited so attendance is by invitation only, please write to us to request an invitation.
PITCHES, PROJECTS AND PRESENTERS
Brief descriptions of selected media makers, organizers and guest presenters are included here, additional people and projects may be added.
Media Makers
Media makers are looking for outreach partners, distribution, funding and other resources to complete their projects and ensure they are seen by the best possible audience.
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Dangerous Times, Rebellious Responses
Media maker: Alicia Diaz & Consuela Lopez
This short documentary traces the rise of the Sanctuary Movement in Detroit from the perspective of Latinx war exiles and asylum activists (within a largely white led resistance) who challenged the US Government, and the movement itself. Through contemporary migration advocates the film also questions the movement’s viability amid rampant nativism. This historical perspective is hugely relevant today; the team seeks strategic planning help and partners to imagine how to use the film and an exhibition that goes to Central America and Canada. -
God Said Give 'Em Drum Machines
Media maker: Jennifer Washington & Kristian Hill
The story behind Detroit's 1980s techno music scene and how its underground culture revolutionized dance music forever. Motown is also the birthplace of techno, which evolved to become the 7.4 billion dollar EDM industry, one that is dominated by white artists. The God Said Give ‘Em Drum Machines documentary tells the story of the African American men who created it, and how the business of music betrayed them; the team is seeking support for an immersive installation experience based. -
Love & Struggle
Media maker: Andrea Morningstar
Love & Struggle is the story of the small, experimental James and Grace Lee Boggs School in urban Detroit run by a trio of magnetic, powerful, local women who share a passion for embracing the conflict in their lives as an opportunity for growth. They use the raw material of student’s lives as the core of their curriculum. The project follows the three women, several students and their families, and the neighborhood through years 1-5. The project is seeking production support and partners in education. -
NoTown
Media makers: Capella Fahoome & Cucillo Consad
The Emergency Management policy played out to wildly problematic effects on several Michigan cities: NoTown follows three individuals whose lives were turned upside-down by what some call an attack on democracy. Detroit native Cheryl West, a retired music teacher, is unjustly evicted from her home of 63 years; activist Reverend Pinkney is wrongly convicted of election fraud in Benton Harbor; and Melissa Mays, a mother and wife turned extreme activist on the frontline of the fight for clean and accessible water in Flint. This series of short films in production is looking for community screening partners and to power the movement against Emergency Management. -
Take Me Home
Media maker: Orlando “Willie” Ford
Citizens going through illegal tax foreclosure in Detroit, Michigan, coping with the struggles of displacement and loss of community. Take Me Home follows a family that lost their home due to the corrupt foreclosure system in Wayne County. This short film is in post-production and is seeking impact partners focused on providing legal support and services to those impacted by foreclosure crisis. -
Sidelots
Media maker: Atieno Nyar Kasagam
Sidelots is the story of a young black family's journey into urban farming in Detroit, and their immersion into a radical, indigenous reverence of land, both in the city and in their ancestral lands of Alabama and rural Kenya. A short film in post-production seeking a digital media strategist and partners for marketing and releasing the film.
COMMUNITY LEADERS AND ORGANIZATIONS
Community leaders and organizations are looking for creative partners, media makers, and resources, from story strategy to production and distribution support in order to bring these urgent local stories to local audiences, and beyond.
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Aadizookaan
The Aadizookaan help build & enhance the quality of life in a way that is rooted in indigenous/ancestral knowledge systems globally. Like the Anishinaabe practice of wild ricing where individuals work towards a harvest that feeds and cares for the entire community, they work collaboratively, enhancing a support network rooted in their values and seeking to better the quality of life for their communities.
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Black Youth Project 100 (BYP100)
Presented by: Talon Williams
BYP100 is a national member-based organization of 18-35 year old activists and organizers creating freedom and justice for all black people. This is accomplished by building a network focused on transformative leadership development, direct action organizing, advocacy, and political education using a black queer feminist lens. -
Detroit Justice Center
Presented by: Amanda Alexander
The Detroit Justice Center (DJC) is a non-profit law firm working alongside communities to create economic opportunities, transform the justice system, and promote equitable and just cities. -
FoodLab Detroit
Presented by: Devita Davison
FoodLab is a community of food entrepreneurs committed to making the possibility of good food in Detroit a sustainable reality. -
Siwatu Freedom Team
Presented by: Clotine Anderson, Michelle Martinez and ill Weaver
July 2017- Siwatu-Salama Ra, a 26-year-old Detroit community leader flashed her unloaded, licensed gun to defend her family from a driver attempting to run them over. Michigan’s Stand Your Ground law did not protect Siwatu. In March 2018, she began serving a two year mandatory sentence for “Felonious Firearm.” Unjustly incarcerated, she is separated from her children and family, including the infant son she gave birth to in May. The Siwatu Freedom Team works with her to advocate for reproductive justice, Muslim rights, and an end to mass incarceration. #FreeSiwatu -
Street Democracy
Presented By: Jayesh Patel
The team at Street Democracy believes they can enhance public safety and improve people’s lives by moving criminal sentencing from its current punitive stance to one that extends opportunity and healing. They tried it. It works. And you (judge/city/state) can implement it at little to no cost. -
We The People of Detroit (WPD)
Presented by: Julia Cuneo
We The People Detroit was founded in response to Emergency Management over the city of Detroit and Detroit Public Schools. As a community-based grassroots organization, WPD aims to inform, educate, and empower Detroit residents on imperative issues surrounding civil rights, land, water, education and the democratic process. A recent focus of their work has been opposing water shut-offs.
PRESENTERS
Good Pitch Local Detroit Moderators
Lana Garland, Filmmaker and Curator, Hayti Heritage Center Film Festival
Twiggy Pucci Garçon, Program Director, True Colors Fund, Board Member, Doc Society
Good Idea / Case Studies
Alice Quinlan and Keisha Salmon American Documentary / POV
Jay Pitter, Collaborating Across Differences
Michael Gibbons, Marketing & Comms, Creative Capital
Elise McCave, Kickstarter
Nicole Moore, Lady Parts Justice
Naomi Burton and Nick Hayes, Means of Production
Joaquin Alvarado, Founder, Studio ToBe
Molly Murphy, Working Films *
Special Guests & Presenters
Macky Alston and Sarah Masters, Hartley Media Impact Initiative at Auburn *
Maori Holmes, Black Star Film Festival *
Ill weaver and Paige Watkins, DNA *
Beadie Finzi, Doc Society
Lindsay Guetschow, Doc Academy, Doc Society
Cara Mertes, Just Films, Ford Foundation *
Steve Byrne and Kathy Kieliszewski, Freep Film Festival *
Patricia Finneran, Good Pitch Local, Doc Society
* Good Pitch Local Host and/or Partner
Download the press release
GOOD PITCH LOCAL IS...
- a day-long networking event showcasing new short-form non-fiction media projects and presents opportunities for organizers to connect with media makers in their communities
- a model for creative collaboration.
WHO ATTENDS?
Activists, Brands, Educators, Filmmakers, Foundations, Nonprofits, Lawyers, Media makers, Media Platforms, Philanthropists, Policymakers, Press and more.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
- An equal number of media makers and organizations pitch their latest project and most passionate ideas in an expertly moderated program of three-minute pitches and audience engagement.
- A carefully curated mix of 170 people are invited to attend.
- Potential participants submit project ideas in advance, up to 16 projects are selected to pitch.
- A mix of national and local experts present case studies, opportunities and good ideas.
WHO PITCHES?
MEDIA MAKERS with new projects that are deeply relevant to their community
ORGANIZERS and community leaders who are advancing social justice, equity and social good
WHAT IS PLEDGED?
ACCESS to resources that support creation, distribution and outreach
FINANCIAL RESOURCES often in the form of micro-grants of $500 - $1,000
PARTNERSHIPS that strengthen campaigns and movements
TIME & EXPERTISE individuals commit their skills, talent and experience
Interested? Email us at goodpitchlocal@docsociety.org
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