Impact Filmmaking for Social Justice

Molly Murphy is Director of Partnerships and Innovation at Working Films. In her two decade tenure, she has planned and directed impact campaigns, facilitated partnerships and coordinated coalitions that have positioned documentaries to catalyze change on the biggest issues of our time. Molly has led dozens of trainings focused on leveraging the power of film to make an impact. She is part of the Documentary Accountability Working Group and on the board of Justice for My Sister, which trains non-binary, foster, and youth of color to tell stories through a gender equity. racial justice, and trauma-informed lens.

Andy Jones is an experienced producer, impact producer and consultant, living and working in Newcastle in northern England through our micro-indie company Radio Film. He worked as Executive Impact Producer and UK co-producer on ARICA - a toxic waste scandal - with Laika Film in Sweden and AricaDoc in Chile, overseeing a campaign focussed on justice for survivors of the international trade in Toxic Waste.

Over the past 20 years Andy Jones has worked in various roles making documentaries all over the world. He has been a producer on major BBC series (Africa & South America with Jonathan Dimbleby), directed independent features (As Old As My Tongue, I Shot Bi Kidude), and produced and advised on impact & outreach campaigns ranging from Sorry We Missed You (Ken Loach) to Miners Shot Down (Rehad Desai). He has also produced several radio documentaries for BBC World Service (Funeral Punks, Finders Keepers) along with a whole range of partners ranging from small community groups to the United Nations. 

Nicole van Schaik strategizes with filmmakers and impact producers on how to use their films as strategic tools for social or environmental change. For the Good Pitch program and Doc Society as a whole, she brokers partnerships with organizations from across civil society, including foundations, philanthropists, NGOs, brands, policymakers, activists, technology innovators and media.

As Associate Director of Program, Sabine oversees the design and implementation of several programs in support of women and nonbinary documentary filmmakers, including the (Egg)celerator Lab for first- and second-time filmmakers, and Project: Hatched for films reaching completion and in the process of launching an impact campaign. She also works closely with the Program Director on internal management to ensure effective and equitable practices and processes for the program department. Since 2016, she has managed a range of programs and program activities at Chicken & Egg Pictures, including the Chicken & Egg Award for advanced-career filmmakers.

As the Manager of Artist Programs at Firelight Media, Ximena Amescua Cuenca not only manages all aspects of program development and implements for the flagship Documentary Lab, but is also in charge of the grant making initiatives, which includes the William Greaves Fund and the Impact Campaign Fund. Since 2012, she has worked in the nonfiction film industry, mostly at NGOs working at the intersection of human rights social justice and art. As an engaged Mexican director and producer, Ximena is also a Creative Capital "Taller for Latinx Artists" alumna and the director of the short documentary Juanita, which had its premiere at the 2015 Margaret Mead Film Festival.

Gerry Leonard (he/him) is an Indonesian impact strategist and organizer currently based in Brooklyn, New York. He is the Director of Filmmaker Services and Impact at Working Films where he also directs the Docs in Action program that grants finishing funds for short documentaries, and the Impact Kickstart program that provides partnership and strategy development support and seed funding. Gerry brings into the field of narrative shift and culture change a background in community organizing—blending his experience in grassroots movement building and policy advocacy towards collective action and liberation.

As one of the coordinators of (GIPA), Naomi helps impact practitioners connect with each other, and spark conversations around the issues in the field of Impact Producing. 

Previously, Naomi served as Executive Director of the Southern Documentary Fund; she worked with Doc Society as Outreach Director for Good Pitch Chicago in 2013 & 2015, and again for GPNY in 2016. Naomi spent nine years in Chicago as Engagement Consultant for ITVS, hosting over 80 documentary film screenings, followed by discussions, workshops, expos and performances.