Week 1 - 2023
Intro
It’s a new year and a new phase of life. I recently announced that I’m expecting my first child in February and have been working hard to set up my business for success whilst I take some form of maternity leave. However, as a founder, and speaking to many founder friends, it’s unlikely that I will take an extended period of time off, and instead continue with some high-value support whilst my brilliant team delivers the day-to-day of our campaigns.
The new year started off really positively and I’m hoping the rest of 2023 continues in that way!
✅ Holding Moses Oscar Shortlited - RSVP to our virtual event Jan 10th, 6pm UK
We are extremely proud to be supporting the Oscar Shortlisted Holding Moses, from our friends and collaborators at Frankly Speaking Films: Rivkah Beth Medow & Jen Rainin.
Synopsis:
For Broadway performer Randi, birthing her son felt triumphant, then confusing as he was whisked away to the NICU. When doctors shared that Moses was profoundly disabled and faced a tenuous future, Randi fell into a well of grief before unearthing a new language by which to learn and love her son – one born and honed in the body.
Randi’s story laces together family, queerness and disability with vulnerability. Hers is a parenting journey we rarely speak openly about in our culture. HOLDING MOSES illuminates the often invisible story of the caregiver and sparks conversations that help shift the shame narrative around the stunning challenges and surprising gifts that come with the birth of a disabled child.
Tues Jan 10th @ 6pm (GMT) / 1pm (ET) / 10am (PT) - Virtual Conversation (available globally)
Join filmmakers Rivkah Beth Medow, Jen Rainin, and film participant, Randi Rader for an online conversation discussing their Oscar shortlisted film, Holding Moses.
In this interactive session, you can pose your questions directly to the film team. Discussing themes of family, queerness, and disability with vulnerability, attend this session with an open heart. The team will discuss the delicate nature of this narrative, why these kinds of stories should be told and how they hope the film will impact audiences worldwide.
Please watch the film (17 mins) in advance of the session on The New Yorker website.
✅ An Army of Women sign for 2023 strategy support
We have been working with the team at Differ Media (Julie Lunde Lillesaeter & Natalya Sarch) throughout 2022 to refine the impact objectives for their new feature doc An Army of Women. This involved a period of strategic planning, partnership meetings, and securing LOIs (Letters of Intent) from a range of organizations across the US. Our collaborative work and the teams continued film development, helped them to secure additional production finance from the Norwegian Film Institute. If you would like to contribute towards the film production budget, you can make a donation via Women Make Movies here.
Synopsis:
When Marina’s and Hanna’s rape cases are dismissed by the Austin police, both women try to find a way to rebuild their lives. How can they create a new normal for themselves in a society that doesn’t recognize that there’s a problem? They join forces with ten other women in a groundbreaking class-action lawsuit, arguing that sexual assault isn’t prosecuted because it’s a crime that predominantly affects women. Jenny, a social worker turned attorney, takes on the case against all odds and decides to put her career on the line to fight for her clients. Together, the group is determined to hold the police and prosecutors accountable for their inaction, but their resilience is tested as they face setback after setback from the system they hope to change. An Army of Women is an intimately observed documentary about a group of women who sacrifice everything in their fight to be believed, offering an inspiring inside look at a lawsuit and a movement that could change the future for women across the U.S.
Looking ahead:
We are extremely pleased to have extended our contract for 2023 in order to raise the vital impact campaign funding for a launch in Spring 2024.
An Army of Women has enormous potential to create structural and cultural change and put sexual assault on the agenda across the USA. The vision for a wide-reaching campaign is to change rape culture and ensure that survivors are met with support and belief. On a structural level, the goal is to make sexual assault crimes a priority within the legal system.
The concrete actions needed for structural change often differ from state to state and county to county, so we wish to begin our campaign with a focus on Texas and what can be achieved with the help of the film, before expanding this in coordination with national partners to address these issues on a national and, eventually, international level.
If you are interested in supporting the campaign - whether via financing or campaign partnership - please get in touch.
✅ New team members at Together - welcome Natalie & Charlotte
We are thrilled to welcome 2 new members of the team this month.
Charlotte Wilbrew joins as our new Social Media Executive, starting out supporting some of our long-term festival clients: Human Rights Watch Film Festival (London & NYC) and the Athena Film Festival (NYC). Charlotte comes from an agency background, after studying film at university, and we are thrilled to have another data-driven marketeer join the team.
Natalie Campbell-Reid joins as our new Executive Assistant, supporting me and the Director of Operations, Alex Cook. She will be helping keep my inbox in check, supporting new client proposals, content strategy, and much more.
✅ Progressing funding meetings with key partners
We have been going through a period of transition at Together Films over the last year to review our funding and operational model. Following the launch of our non-profit - Impact Together - we received a 3-year grant from a generous funder in 2022, which will enable us to focus on climate-focused stories until 2025.
We have started the new year in a positive light with multiple funders interested in following up on our 2023 objectives to see if we are a fit for their mission. Having this feedback in the first week of the year is so valuable as it realigns my mind that we are on the right path and that there are many people who wish to support us.
As someone with anxiety, funding has always been something that I have battled with. When writing proposals for clients, I love it, I can talk about their success and craft a compelling ask every week. In 2022 we helped our clients raise multi 6 figures for their campaigns.
However, when it comes to asking for funding for myself or Together, the imposter syndrome kicks in. I’m determined to put a more positive step forward in this area this year. If you have been following our work and are interested in hearing about our current roadmap and projects, please get in touch. I’d love to chat.
Feedback this week
“We just feel so supported with you, thanks for guiding us on this journey” - A filmmaker at the end of one of our check-in calls