Good Pitch Local is happening tomorrow
July 26, 2021 Category: Featured, Media, Medium, PurposePhillyCAM and Doc Society together are running the third edition of Good Pitch Local Philly on Tuesday, July 27. The Good Pitch Local aims to provide Philly creative media-makers and organizations with a platform for collaboration, connecting them to resources and strengthening networks.
“Good Pitch Local came about in response to the 2016 US Presidential election and a decision by Doc Society was made to focus on building support for progressive causes at the local community level by mobilizing nonfiction storytellers to make untraditional collaborations in their cities and regions,” said Shannon Thomas, program manager of Doc Society. “The program has been around in Philadelphia since 2018 and has been successful in no small part because of the robust media landscape this city has to offer.”
Tuesday’s Good Pitch Local is going to be a celebration.
“A celebration of months of work put in by the film teams, but also it will be the first Good Pitch event to have an in-person element in over two years. We are excited to be able to safely come together with the pitch teams to cheer them on from the same place,” Thomas said.
From a program perspective, Doc Society hopes that each project can forge at least one lasting connection that helps further their work — whether it’s meeting a new potential funder, a creative partner or a local organization that wants to screen their film.
Thomas said there are lots of ways to be successful at Good Pitch Local and they can’t wait to see what happens this year. From the past two events, they had projects to go on to get some major funding opportunities from Philadelphia foundations, screen at local and national festivals like BlackStar and Sundance and find local crew members to help finish their projects.
Good Pitch Local overall is meant to provide a space and a framework for local communities to come together around causes they care about by sharing stories. “We have found that while a lot of local artists and organizers know each other there’s not many places or events where they can come together to explore collaborating with each other and make lasting connections,” said Thomas.
In the long term, they hope to provide a framework for social change by using nonfiction media.
The biggest challenge has been having to produce it virtually and losing the in-between connections that come from being in the same place at the same time in-person. “Producing a high-quality virtual event with speakers spread around the country is no easy feat and the staff at PhillyCAM are world class at it. Doc Society could not ask for a better partner and team for this event,” Thomas added.
Tuesday’s line-up features 10 new project pitches, six from media makers and four from local organizations. The projects touch on issues that reflect the urgent priorities of Philadelphians, from criminal justice reform, spiritual practices, climate justice, education and more. They take the form of podcasts, short films, VR/AR, mixed media installations and personal testimonials.
The selected teams attended an online story + impact lab in June and were matched with a program mentor who will work with the teams over the summer to help them develop their projects and refine their pitch.
This program culminates in a webcast live from PhillyCAM studio, with a mix of in-studio and online guests and features a curated selection of pitches and presentations in an atmosphere of radical collaboration, where storytellers and change-makers connect with funders, media platforms, and partner organizations that can help ensure these stories get made. Pitch teams will be brought together with key media and philanthropic guests in a networking reception after the presentation.
The projects were selected by a committee representing local media arts organizations including: the Leeway Foundation, Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival, Philadelphia Latino Film Festival, Scribe Video Center and UArts. Program partners also include BlackStar Projects, Bread & Roses Community Fund, cinéSPEAK, Resolve Philly, Temple University Film and Media Studies, and WHYY.