Blessed Unrest: A Theory of Change
Thursday, April 6, 2017
Session Description
“No artist is ever pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction; a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.” -Martha Graham. For many artists and changemakers, dissatisfaction and unrest are the vital animating forces that fuel the work of social progress. As the Forum looks to create common ground, this contrarian Sundance panel brings together independent storytellers and social entrepreneurs to explore how negative forces can be key drivers of positive change.
Time & Location
Time:
10:00 AM - 11:15 AM, Thursday, April 6, 2017
BST
Location:
Rhodes Trust Lecture Theatre
Speakers
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Speaker
, Producer
Heather Rae has worked as a producer and executive for more than twenty years. She has been named one of Variety’s Ten Producers To Watch and produced Frozen River, for which she won the Paiget Producer Award. Frozen River won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, was nominated for two Academy Awards, won two Gotham Awards and was nominated for seven Spirit Awards, winning two. Rae also produced such films as The Dry Land starring America Ferrera which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, Magic Valley starring Scott Glenn and Kyle Gallner, which premiered at Tribeca, and Sundance hit Ass Backwards, written by June Raphael and Casey Wilson (Bride Wars) who star alongside Alicia Silverstone, Vincent D’Onofrio, Brian Geraghty and Jon Cryer. Rae also produced festival darling I Believe in Unicorns from writer/director Leah Meyerhoff. Rae produced Netflix Orifinal Tallulah, written and directed by Orange is the New Black writer Sian Heder. Tallulah premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Rae recently wrapped on Olivia Milch’s Blacklist script, Dude, starring Lucy Hale, Austin Butler, Alex Wolff, and Alexandra Shipp. Rae is currently in production on Akicita, the documentary feature directed by Cody Lucich that tells the story of Standing Rock.
For Six years Rae ran the Native Program at the Sundance Institute. She has sat on the Board of Trustees for the Sundance Institute and advised to such organizations as The Rockefeller Foundation, IFP, Film Independent, The Ford Foundation, The Tribeca Institute, and First Americans in the Arts. Rae is working with both her settler and indigenous heritage to deepen the dialogue of reconciliation and responsibility in the Americas.
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Moderator
Tabitha Jackson was appointed Director of the Documentary Film Program (DFP) at Sundance Institute in late 2013. The DFP is dedicated to supporting nonfiction filmmakers worldwide in the production of cinematic documentaries that tell compelling stories, push the boundaries of the form, or address contemporary issues including social justice and human rights. In supporting such work, the DFP encourages the diverse exchange of ideas by artists as a critical pathway to developing an open society. Recently supported films have included Cameraperson, Hooligan Sparrow, Whose Streets?, The Look of Silence, I Am Not Your Negro, and CITIZENFOUR.
With almost 25 years experience in the field, Jackson is an award-winning Commissioning Editor, director, and producer of non-fiction work. Prior to joining Sundance she most recently served as Head of Arts and Performance at Channel 4 Television in London, where she supported and championed the independent and alternative voice and sought to find fresh and innovative ways of storytelling. She also executive produced a number of projects for Film 4 including Mark Cousins’ cinematic odyssey The Story of Film, Clio Barnard’s hybrid The Arbor, Sophie Fiennes’ essay The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology, Bart Layton’s thriller The Imposter, and Iain and Jane’s recent Sundance-winning Nick Cave biography 20,000 Days on Earth.
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Speaker
Chief Climate Officer and Deputy Assistant Administrator, USAID, United States Agency for International Development
Gillian Caldwell is the Chief Climate Officer and Deputy Assistant Administrator for the US Agency for International Development (USAID). In this role she is responsible for leading and coordinating the climate and environment work across the Agency. Gillian is an attorney and film maker and has been working to protect human rights and the environment throughout her career. Prior to joining USAID, she served as the CEO of Global Witness, a 2014 Skoll Award Winner which has a focus on tackling climate change and deploys investigations into corruption and natural resource extraction to drive systems change worldwide. From 2007-2010, she launched and led 1Sky, a highly collaborative cross-sector campaign with over 600 allied organizations to pass legislation in the US to address the climate crisis. In 2005, she won the Skoll Award for her leadership of WITNESS which empowers human rights and environmental defenders to integrate video and storytelling into their advocacy work.
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Speaker
Producer, Strongheart Group
CORI SHEPHERD STERN is an Academy Award nominated producer focused on both documentary and fiction film projects. Her most recent film, which she wrote and produced, is BENDING THE ARC - a feature documentary about the epic arc of the global health rights movement through the intimate story of the extraordinary team who led the fight. The film, which premiered at Sundance 2017, was called by The Hollywood Reporter "a stunning documentary...a glorious and uplifting film."
Cori's past projects include WARM BODIES, a box office smash for Summit/Lionsgate and OPEN HEART, a 2013 Oscar nominee for Best Documentary Short Subject. She has a first-look producing deal with Rocklin|Faust, producers of Oscar-winning Best Picture SPOTLIGHT. Current projects include THE ARIZONA PROJECT with Miramax and Adaptive Entertainment, a narrative feature. Cori has also executive produced two virtual reality films: COLLISIONS, which premiered at Davos and Sundance 2016, and FRANCIS, which premiered at the World Bank and WHO in support of world body policy change for global mental health.
In addition to film, her experience includes hands-on work as a social change strategist and social entrepreneur. She appeared in the Sundance Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award winning documentary SONITA, working to help the young woman/rapper escape child marriage in Afghanistan and pursue her art. Cori's social justice projects have been featured on BBC, NPR, The Today Show, and The Oprah Winfrey Show.
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Speaker
Elissa builds strategic alliances for Partners In Health (PIH) with corporate, foundation, and implementation partners. Over the last decade she’s held a variety of roles at PIH, including leading the Policy & Partnerships team in Malawi where she developed multisectoral collaboration around noncommunicable disease, women’s health, and health sector planning. Previously, she worked in policy research, supply chain consulting, and workforce development. Elissa is a proud member of the Women’s Impact Alliance.
