Active Voice projects are designed from a healthy mix of strategy + creativity. Learn more about the outcomes from our signature campaigns.
Beyond the Choir
Every so often, Active Voice sees a "social issue" film that resonates with people's core values and helps them walk in the shoes of others, without preaching or polarizing the issues.
Chasing Freedom
In this Court TV original movie, Juliette Lewis plays a reluctant lawyer who takes on a pro bono case in defense of a young Afghan woman, a teacher fleeing the Taliban, who seeks asylum in the United States. Inspired by true events, the film pulls back the curtain on the usually hidden world of asylee detention.
A Doula Story A Doula Story, produced by The Kindling Group, documents one woman’s fierce commitment to empower pregnant teenagers with the skills and knowledge they need to become confident, nurturing mothers.
A brutal, hate-based beating of two Mexican day laborers catapulted the Long Island suburb of Farmingville into national headlines. Farmingville brings this combustible situation to the screen with an extraordinarily balanced look at the stories and opinions of town leaders, longtime residents, day laborers and activists.
The New Americans The New Americans, produced by Kartemquin Films (Hoop Dreams), is a landmark PBS miniseries that reveals the remarkable sweep of immigrant experiences through the stories of a diverse group of immigrants and refugees who leave their homes and families behind and come to live in America.
Off To War Off to War is a 10-part documentary series by Brent Renaud and Craig Renaud that tracks one year in the life of an Iraq-bound Arkansas National Guard unit—and the families they left behind—as they are deployed, train, battle and finally return to their communities.
Race to Execution
Using personal narratives and often unexpected results from research on race, justice and the media, Rachel Lyon’s Race to Execution follows the haunting stories of two death row inmates and exposes the role race plays in who lives and who dies at the hands of the state.
Worlds Apart / Hold Your Breath
Produced by Maren Grainger Monsen, MD, of Stanford University, Worlds Apart and Hold Your Breath follow patients and families in homes, neighborhoods and hospital wards across the country to reveal how race, culture and class are contributing to stark health disparities in the United States.
"The people at Active Voice are social media multihyphenates: intellectually challenging, committed, creative, strategic, and effective. They are valued collaborators in our efforts to help make the world a better place, one story at a time."
John Schreiber Executive Vice President, Social Action & Advocacy, Participant Media
Beyond the Choir
Every so often, Active Voice sees a "social issue" film that resonates with people's core values and helps them walk in the shoes of others, without preaching or polarizing the issues. The characters are complex and so are the challenges they face. These are the films you want your friends to watch, and probably even your enemies. (You might even recommend them to your parents!) Instead of hitting you over the head with a single point of view, they make you want to know more, think critically and even engage with other people. And as video becomes more and more influential and ubiquitous, these stories can humanize thorny public policy issues in ways that print media and talking heads often cannot.
Active Voice’s initiative, Beyond the Choir, is focused on what makes this kind of storytelling tick, and the role it can play helping people make more informed decisions about the world they want to live in. We have an idea that by working with filmmakers at formative stages of production and by building collaborations with policy experts, public opinion pollsters, strategic communicators and funders, we can create and better understand how to shape stories that click with audiences far beyond the "Sundance Belt."
Beyond the Choir films include:
Farmingville, by Carlos Sandoval and Catherine Tambini
Getting High, by Victor Silverman
New Muslim Cool, by Jennifer Maytorena Taylor
Chasing Freedom
About the Campaign: Active Voice’s Chasing Freedom Campaign used the unusual platform of cable television to encourage communities and broadcast audiences to review asylum detention policies. Nationwide screening events, law school forums and organizational partnerships enabled people to connect with local and national advocacy efforts.
What Happened:
A screening for D.C. policymakers, sponsored by Human Rights First, and other events that encouraged the formation of an Office of Refugee Protection within the Department of Homeland Security
Dozens of events before and after the Court TV broadcast in community settings, law schools and even detention facilities
Long-term tools, including legal curricula, for pro bono attorneys, physicians and service providers who wish to aid asylum seekers
Partners (partial list):
Amnesty International
truTV (formerly Court TV)
Human Rights First (formerly the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights)
Lutheran Immigrant and Refugee Service
Ford Foundation (funder)
Who's Talking About the Campaign: "In dealing with U.S. officials in Washington, it was really helpful to point out that through Active Voice’s efforts, there were many, many organizations holding screenings around the country." -Eleanor Acer
Director of the Asylum Program, Human Rights First
Campaign Timeline: 2004 – 2005
A Doula Story
About the Campaign:
Working closely with The Kindling Group and Health Connect One, Active Voice designed a national campaign that inspired the replication of the community-based doula model depicted in the film and sparked new collaborations to improve reproductive health care and provide nonjudgmental support for young mothers.
What Happened:
A screening at the National Press Club with key congressional staffers, which inspired Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) to submit a successful request—co-sponsored by then-Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) and others—for the first-ever federal funding of community-based doula programs, over half a million dollars of which was awarded to Health Connect One to support six doula programs nationwide
Cross-sector screening forums to promote long-overdue dialogue among stakeholders, including hospital administrators, teen advocates, maternal care specialists, funders, public health professionals and community organizers
Resource materials in English, Spanish and Japanese to be used as training tools in clinics, universities and community-based organizations
Partners (partial list):
Health Connect One (formerly Chicago Health Connection)
Healthy Teen Network
The Kindling Group (client)
Marguerite Casey Foundation (funder)
Who's Talking About the Campaign: "This documentary and campaign helped put the practice of community-based doulas on the map and has laid the groundwork for long-term change." -Phyllis Glink
Executive Director, Irving Harris Foundation
Campaign Timeline: 2004 – 2006
Farmingville
About the Campaign: As tension increased in new “gateway” communities and suburbs, Active Voice used this cautionary tale of a town in crisis to encourage policymakers, immigration advocates and communities to work together to create positive solutions.
What Happened:
A special screening and briefing at the Brookings Institution for stakeholders including elected officials, policy analysts and day laborers
Guided bridge-building dialogues in communities with large day laborer populations
Development of resources highlighting successful models of police departments, public agencies and community-based groups working together to solve tough issues
Cultivation events to encourage funders and individual donors to support community problem-solving efforts
Partners (partial list):
Brookings Institution
Catholic Legal Immigration Network
National Conference of State Legislatures
National Immigration Forum
Carnegie Corporation of New York (funder)
Who's Talking About the Campaign: "The Farmingville Campaign created ‘safety zones’ where people could speak honestly about what is and isn’t working as we try to integrate immigrants into civic life today." -Daranee Petsod
Executive Director, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees
Campaign Timeline: 2004 – Season Year
The New Americans
About the Campaign: The New Americans, produced by Kartemquin Films (Hoop Dreams), is a landmark PBS miniseries that reveals the remarkable sweep of immigrant experiences through the stories of a diverse group of immigrants and refugees who leave their homes and families behind and come to live in America.
What's Happening:
Extensive pre- and post-broadcast coalition-building activities in North Carolina, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Iowa, Indiana and other "new immigrant gateways"
Sector-specific events for organizations including the National Conference of State Legislators, League of Women Voters chapters and youth media groups
Ongoing use of Kartemquin Films and Active Voice's video modules in educator training, immigrant civic education courses, classrooms and workplace sensitivity efforts
Updated resources for an encore broadcast and the series' DVD release (in 2009–2010)
Partners (partial list):
Association of American Colleges and Universities
Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees
Independent Television Service
Migration Policy Institute
Kartemquin Films (client)
Carnegie Corporation of New York, Ford Foundation, James Irvine Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Zellerbach Family Foundation (funders)
Who's Talking About the Campaign: "The New Americans is a learning opportunity for foundations. It helps us examine our changing communities, what it means to be a 'new American,' how we can integrate immigrants into our communities and, as philanthropists, who we’re accountable to." -Daranee Petsod
Executive Director, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees
Campaign Timeline: 2000 – present
Off to War
About the Campaign: Active Voice worked in collaboration with the filmmakers and Investigation Discovery to move beyond the prowar/antiwar debate and spark a productive dialogue about the human costs of armed conflict in the 21st century.
What Happened:
Journalist-hosted community forums featuring Guardsmembers, the filmmakers, opinion leaders and family members
First-time conversations about the hidden effects of war for many civilian soldiers, their families and their communities
Diverse partners, such as Hands On Atlanta and the League of Women Voters of Louisville, KY, gaining experience in film-based facilitated dialogue
Partners (partial list):
Investigation Discovery (formerly the Discovery Times Channel)
Downtown Community Television
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, University of Nebraska
Ford Foundation (funder)
Who's Talking About the Campaign: "The Off to War community forum in Atlanta was an eye-opener…it created dialogue, made us think and even encouraged people to share their own personal stories about their experiences with war." -Gillian Renault
President, Renault Communications
Campaign Timeline: 2005
Race to Execution
About the Campaign: Active Voice forged partnerships with a range of organizations committed to criminal justice, racial justice and journalism education to deepen and broaden the national dialogue on race bias and the death penalty.
What Happened:
Forums for journalists that inspired professional discussions about race bias and the need for more critical reporting about the death penalty
Guided conversations about race and criminal justice among new audiences, including people of faith, communities of color and journalists
Increased news coverage of and public dialogue around racial disparities in death penalty sentencing
Access to film clips and related resources for 800 high school and college teachers nationwide via the Death Penalty Information Center’s online curriculum
Partners (partial list):
Annenberg Institute for Justice and Journalism, University of Southern California (USC)
Center for Justice in Capital Cases, DePaul University
Lioness Media Arts, Inc. (client)
Ford Foundation (funder)
Who's Talking About the Campaign: "Our screening of Race to Execution and the following roundtable discussion helped participating journalists see new angles that they hadn’t thought about before… It truly deepened their knowledge about the death penalty in relation to race." -Steve Montiel
Director, USC Annenberg Institute for Justice and Journalism
Campaign Timeline: 2006 – 2008
Worlds Apart / Hold Your Breath
About the Campaign: Working with some of the country’s most prestigious medical schools, Active Voice launched a robust campaign to foster cultural sensitivity in medical and health care settings throughout the United States.
What Happened:
Special screenings at universities nationwide that featured prominent doctors, policymakers and leaders of ethnic communities
New collaborations between hospitals, city agencies and immigrant-serving organizations
Medical schools across the country included Worlds Apart as part of their required cultural competency curriculum
Partners (partial list):
Harvard Medical School
The Joint Commission
Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics (client)
The Commonwealth Fund (funder)
Who's Talking About the Campaign: "The Hold Your Breath screening that we hosted at Harvard was noted by many of my colleagues as the most interesting cross-cultural health care event they’d ever attended." -Alexander Green, MD
Institute for Health Policy, Massachusetts General Hospital
Campaign Timeline: 2004 – 2006
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