New Video from Free Range Studios: MM Advisory Board member Jonah Sachs and his Free Range Studios team (producers of The Story of Stuff and The Meatrix) have done it again with The Bay vs. The Bag. This short online animation is part of a Save the Bay campaign on plastic bag pollution in the San Francisco Bay area.

Games for Change: The Sixth Annual Games for Change Festival takes place on May 27-29 in New York City. Called "the Sundance of video games" for "socially-responsible game-makers," this is the only event dedicated to the exciting new movement of video games for social change.

Beyond Broadcast: Public Service Media from Local to Global: The annual Beyond Broadcast conference in Los Angeles (June 3-6) explores the evolution of participatory digital media. This year's theme: global communication.

Envision: Check out Envision: Addressing Global Issues Through Documentaries, the new annual forum produced by The United Nations Department of Public Information and the Independent Filmmaker Project. New York City, May 14-15.

Media That Matters: On June 3, Arts Engine will host the world premiere of the ninth annual Media That Matters Film Festival in NYC.

Meaningful News Flash

White House Arts Briefing: On May 12, more than 60 artists and creative organizers engaged in civic participation, community development, education, social justice, activism, and philanthropy came together for a White House briefing on arts and social change. More

Enviro Films Can Make Money: Contrary to popular belief, environmental documentaries can make money. According to the Los Angeles Times, recent films like “Space Station 3D” and “Deep Sea 3D” have grossed more money than films like the comedy “I Love You, Man” with Paul Rudd and action flick “Duplicity” with Julia Roberts and Clive Owen. Walt Disney's new documentary, “Earth,” has grossed more than $26 million since it opened. More

Facebook for Good: On April 8, Facebook commemorated reaching 200 million members with the launch of Facebook for Good, where members share stories about how Facebook has helped them give back. Members can buy virtual “gifts” to benefit sixteen partner charities including the American Red Cross, American Heart Association, Kiva, TOMS Shoes, and Charity Water.

Urgent Threats Fund: Jeff Skoll has announced the creation of the Skoll Urgent Threats Fund. Larry Brilliant will lead the fund and help Skoll leverage his philanthropic and business activities (including Participant Media) to drive more impact around fighting climate change, water scarcity, pandemics, nuclear proliferation, and Middle East conflict. More

Messages with a Mission: The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is helping to shape story lines and insert public health messages into popular television shows ER, Law & Order: SVU, and Private Practice. The foundation is set to expand its involvement in television through a deal with Viacom to promote education and healthy living. More

Celebrities and Artists: The UN is launching a Creative Community Outreach Initiative to engage celebrities and artists in promoting peace and raising awareness of critical global issues. More

Meaningful Member of the Month

The Center for Social Media at American University in Washington, DC investigates, showcases, and sets standards for socially engaged media-making. They are a leader in the field, organizing conferences and convenings, publishing valuable research, creating codes of best practices, and incubating media strategies.

Pat Aufderheide is the Director of the Center, a professor in the School of Communication, and a member of Meaningful Media's Advisory Board. In addition to leading the charge at CSM, she is the author of Documentary: A Very Short Introduction, The Daily Planet, and Communications Policy in the Public Interest. Her specific area of interest is copyright and fair use, one of the primary programs at CSM.

CSM recently released a white paper written by Aufderheide and Jessica Clark, Director of the Future of Public Media Project, called Public Media 2.0: Dynamic Engaged Publics. More

Meaningful Review: THE SOLOIST

Sparks Rating*
Social Issue Themes: Homelessness, Mental Health, Race
Actors: Jamie Foxx, Robert Downey Jr., Catherine Keener
Director: Joe Wright
Writers: Susannah Grant (screenplay), Steve Lopez (book)
Producers: Michael London, Mary Jane Skalski
Production Company: DreamWorks SKG, Participant Media
Distributor: DreamWorks SKG

THE SOLOIST is a magical, real-life tale of a homeless man, Nathanial Ayers (Jamie Foxx) who happens to be a virtuoso cello player. His talent captures the attention of LA Times journalist Steve Lopez (Robert Downey, Jr.) and the two form an unlikely friendship. This film courageously explores deep and complex issues such as the link between mental illness and homelessness, issues few big screen, big budget movies even attempt. And, for the most part, the film gets the issues right. More

* The Sparks System is based on the film's quality and ability to effectively address social issues.

If you are interested in becoming a Meaningful Movie Reviewer, email connect@meaningfulmedia.org.
We offer $25 per published review.

Meaningful Opportunities

Political Graphics: The Center for the Study of Political Graphics is calling for poster design entries that address critical issues facing our communities today such as global warming, the economy, healthcare, war, and violence against women. Deadline: June 30, 2009.

Good Pitch Films: The Good Pitch at Independent Film Week is calling for proposals for their program, which brings together inspiring social-purpose film projects and experts from charities, foundations, brands, and media to form powerful alliances around groundbreaking films. Deadline: May 25, 2009.

Filmanthropy Films: The Filmanthropy Festival is looking for films that inspire, educate, raise awareness, and motivate the audience to creating a better world for all.

Video Contest for Peacemakers: The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation’s 2009 Swackhamer Disarmament Video Contest is seeking short (2-3 minute) videos from people of all ages and countries. Deadline: June 15, 2009.

Artivist Films: The 6th Annual Artivist Film Festival is accepting international film and video submissions that concern themselves with human rights, social or political issues, children's issues/advocacy, animal issues/rights, or environmental issues.

Meaningful Resources

Meaningful Media Consulting: Meaningful Media is now offering a wide array of affordable services, including consulting, promotion, and fiscal sponsorship, to help make your social media project a success.

Consulting services include: • Fundraising
• Budgeting & Scheduling • Story Development • Organizational Partnerships
• Web and Online Strategies • Marketing & Outreach • Sales & Distribution

We also provide hands-on implementation of marketing and outreach campaigns, including:
• Campaign Design • Partner Recruitment • Material Development • Blogger/Press Outreach
• Online Community-Building • Viral Marketing • Event Planning

Progressive Book Club: Meaningful Media is excited to announce a new partnership with Progressive Book Club. Part bookseller, part online magazine, PBC offers the best and latest progressive books at 10-40% off list price. Each book you buy supports Meaningful Media.

Dare to Share

Cool Globes

The public art project, Cool Globes: Hot Ideas for a Cooler Planet, is traveling worldwide to encourage ordinary citizens, businesses, and governments to adopt simple solutions to fight global warming. Each of the 50 super-sized seven foot high fiberglass globes are designed by local and national artists to convey a different message about what practical actions can be taken to combat global warming. Cool Globes has been to Chicago, Washington, DC, San Francisco, San Diego, and Los Angeles. Next stops: London and Houston.

Contributed by John Woldenberg, socially conscious film producer and Co-Founder of Cool Globes. Woldenberg recently co-chaired the African First Ladies Health Summit and is engaged in a project to convert the first American city to 100% renewable energy.

Volunteer with Meaningful Media

We are revamping our web site and looking for interactive professionals who can lend their time, expertise, and creativity. Email us to get involved. We are also accepting applicants for our internship program.

Email us at connect@meaningfulmedia.org if you have news, resources, opportunities, or experiences that you'd like to share with the Meaningful Media community.

Meaningful Media is a vibrant network of people committed to changing the world through media. We do this by BRINGING TOGETHER creators, distributors, viewers, and advocates of meaningful media; EMPOWERING members with tools and resources to succeed; RESHAPING the media landscape through research, education, and dialogue.

Join the 2500 people in our dynamic network, and start enjoying the benefits today. Members receive: INVITATIONS to our networking events, meaningful film screenings, seminars, workshops, and panel discussions; ACCESS to our resources, including the Meaningful Movies Database, movie reviews, and news updates.

Membership is free, so JOIN NOW!