In 2008, STORIES OF CHANGE launched a request for proposals and received more than 300 film projects filmmakers around the world interested in telling the stories of social entrepreneurs.  An advisory committee, including CNN Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour, celebrated documentary filmmaker Eugene Jarecki (Why We Fight, The Trials of Henry Kissinger) and Skoll Foundation senior advancement officer Sandy Herz, made recommendations. 10 films have  been chosen, with the first films likely to be completed  as early as 2010.

On hand for the announcement were Jeff Skoll, Founder & Chairman, Skoll Foundation, Sandy Herz, Senior Advancement Office, Skoll Foundation, Ken Brecher, Executive Director, Sundance Institute, Pat Mitchell, President & CEO, The Paley Center For Media, and Cara Mertes, Director, Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program.

The five new STORIES OF CHANGE Grant Award Recipients are:

CONNECTED
Director: Jonathan Stack
Social Entrepreneur: Aloy Chife
Nigerian entrepreneur Chife is making an unrelenting effort to shrink Africa’s digital divide by bringing information technology to those who need it most.

EASY LIKE WATER
Director: Glenn Baker
Social Entrepreneur: Abul Hasanat Mohammed Rezwan
In Bangladesh, Architect Abul Hasanat Mohammed Rezwan’s solar-powered floating schools are turning the front lines of climate change into a community of learning.

TO CATCH A DOLLAR: MUHAMMAD YUNUS BANKS ON AMERICA (working title)
Director: Gayle Ferraro
Social Entrepreneur: Muhammad Yunus
Muhammad Yunus, known for developing the concept of microcredit,  reached seven and a half million poverty-stricken families in Bangladesh with his Grameen Bank. This film profiles the Nobel Prize winner’s newest location in Queens, New York, and 500 women borrowers.

SH*T!
Directors: Annika Gustafson and Phil Jandaly
Social Entrepreneurs: Various
This remarkable film shows viewers how to save the planet, save money while they do it, and have a laugh or two in the meantime.

THE REVOLUTIONARY OPTIMISTS
Directors: Maren Grainger-Monsen, Nicole Newnham
Social Entrepreneur:  Amlan Ganguly
In the slums of Calcutta, Ganguly, a lawyer turned social entrepreneur, empowers children to become “health minders” in their communities, which causes malaria and diarrhea rates to drop, and neighborhoods to transform.

“Social entrepreneurs are working on some of the biggest challenges facing humanity: from climate change, to water scarcity, to ethnic, political and socio-economic conflicts.  These visionaries have created workable solutions to tough problems, and it is critical to tell their stories, not only to inform but also to inspire,” said Sally Osberg, President and CEO of Skoll Foundation. “We are extremely pleased with the caliber of filmmaker submissions to the STORIES OF CHANGE initiative, and look forward to seeing the outcome of these unique collaborations.”

“It is truly extraordinary to be able to provide funding for these important projects in this difficult economic climate,” said Cara Mertes, Director of the Sundance Documentary Film Program. “In their optimism, integrity and intelligence, the films that are launching today reflect the deep challenges we face as a global community, tempered  with the ingenuity and commitment to effective, transformative change that social entrepreneurs exemplify.”

Speaking at the Skoll World Forum Opening Plenary, Sundance Institute Executive Director Ken Brecher said, ” Film is the medium for modern storytelling, and the power of storytelling as an agent for change is tremendous. The goal of STORIES OF CHANGE is to unite these creative forces and bring about not simply awareness but also solutions to the issues of our time.”

This is the third year Sundance Institute has participated in the Skoll World Forum. 2009 Sundance Filmmaker Fellows also participating in the Forum include Robert Kenner (FOOD, INC.), Gayle Ferraro (Muhammad Yunus’ Vision for America (WT)), Greg Barker (SERGIO), and Jon Alpert (BAGHDAD E.R.).

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“Social entrepreneurs are working on some of the biggest challenges the planet faces, from climate change to water scarcity to conflict. They have created workable solutions to tough problems, and it’s important to tell their stories both to inform and inspire people,” said Sally Osberg, President and CEO of Skoll Foundation. ” We’re extremely pleased with the caliber of submissions to the Stories of Change initiative, and look forward to seeing the outcome of these collaborations between filmmakers and social entrepreneurs.”

In 2008, STORIES OF CHANGElaunched a request for proposals and received more than 300 film projects from around the world from filmmakers interested in telling the stories of social entrepreneurs. The advisory committee included CNN Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour, celebrated documentary filmmaker Eugene Jarecki (Why We Fight, The Trials of Henry Kissinger) and Skoll Foundation senior advancement officer Sandy Herz.

“In their optimism, integrity and intelligence, the films that are recognized today reflect the deep challenges we face as a global community. They are about the transformative change that social entrepreneurs exemplify,” said Cara Mertes, Director of the Sundance Documentary Film Program.

A combination of invited gatherings and documentary film project funding, the partnership believes that powerful storytellers and innovative changemakers can benefit from each other. In addition to funding the creation of new documentary films, Stories of Change supports convenings of leaders in both documentary film and social entrepreneurship at key gatherings globally over the course of the three year partnership, including the Skoll World Forum and the Sundance Film Festival.

BACK TO SCHOOL – Development
Producer: Julia Parker Benello
Social Entrepreneur: Sakena Yacoobi
Sakena Yacoobi’s Afghan Institute for Learning, a grassroots organization she founded 12 years ago, brings education to women in Afghanistan.

GREEN SHALL OVERCOME – Development
Director: Tracy Heather Strain/Co-Director: Megan Gelstein
Social Entrepreneur: Van Jones
Van Jones, an African American civil rights lawyer, envisions a pathway out of poverty for low income Americans while simultaneously addressing the challenges of environmental destruction. Can he bring about a revolution of black and green?

POOR CONSUELO – Development
Director: Peter Friedman
Producer: Paul Miller
Social Entrepreneur: PCI-Media Impact
Poor Consuelo Conquers the World tells the story of popular soap operas and telenovelas, now being used to combat the effects of poverty around the world.

THE TEAM – Production
Director: Patrick Reed
Producer: Peter Raymont
Social Entrepreneurs: John Marks and Susan Collin Marks
Kenyans scramble to produce a dramatic TV soap opera series, hoping taboo storylines can bridge deep ethnic divisions, as their country teeters on the brink.

YOUTHBUILD DOCUMENTARY – Production
Director: Annie Sundberg
Social Entrepreneur: Dorothy Stoneman
This feature length documentary will follow a year in the lives of out-of school young people selected for a high stakes community re-build project in North Philadelphia.

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Out of 325 applications working in more than 52 countries, the 16 feature-length documentary films selected will receive a total of $512,500 in support for emerging and established filmmakers. The Sundance Documentary Film Program supports U.S. and international documentary filmmakers who explore the critical issues of our times with highly crafted storytelling and stylistic innovation. Read the complete description of films in the press-release.pdf, or scroll the list below.

FILMS IN DEVELOPMENT

Tomáš Kudrna ALL THAT GLITTERS (Kyrgyzstan/Czech Republic)

Nic Dunlop BURMA SOLDIER (Burma/Thailand/U.S.)

Maria Teresa Rodriguez ¿DONDE ESTAN? The Disappeared Children of El Salvador (U.S./El Salvador)

Amlan Datta IMAGE: DEMOCRACY (India)

Bishnu Dev Halder A TALE OF THREE SISTERS (India)

Leonard Retel Helmrich POSITION OF THE STARS(Indonesia/Netherlands)

FILMS IN PRODUCTION/POST-PRODUCTION

Carol Dysinger CAMP VICTORY: AFGHANISTAN (U.S.)

Heather Rae FAMILY: THE FIRST CIRCLE (U.S./Native American)

Michael Collins GIVE UP TOMORROW (U.S./Philippines)

Barbara Attie and Janet Goldwater GOUNDO’S DAUGHTER (U.S.)

Lixin Fan LAST TRAIN HOME (China)

Jennifer Maytorena Taylor NEW MUSLIM COOL (U.S.)

Orhan Eskiköy and Özgür Dogan ON THE WAY TO SCHOOL (Turkey)

Laura Poitras RELEASE (U.S./Yemen)

Jakob Preuss THE OTHER CHELSEA (Germany)

Gef Senz VIRTUAL FREEDOM  (Australia)

Farid Haerinejad and Mohammad Reza Kazemi WOMEN IN SHROUD (Iran/Canada)

AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT GRANTS

Pamela Yates STATE OF FEAR (U.S./Peru)

Tia Lessin and Carl Deal TROUBLE THE WATER (US)

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