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The Documentary and JournalismBay Area youth act on what they’ve seen in “Digital Divide.”both cases, to work with asmulticultural and diversegroups as possible—and,more importantly, the institutionsthat representthem.In the process, we havefound that the most effectivefilms have an emotionalhonesty and personal voicethat invite viewers to enterinto a sort of relationshipwith the filmmaker. Whenwe screened “P.O.V.”/Deann Borshay’s film, “FirstPerson Plural,” about herU.S. adoption from Korea,for a “brain trust” ofmulticultural leaders, welearned that it resonatednot only among peoplewho had adopted childrenfrom other nations, butamong Native Americanswho protested the placementof children from thereservation into urban families.To explore ways inwhich these documentariesmight result in actionwithin specific communities,we seek advice from avariety of groups. We alsoseek partners in commercialand print media, foundations,faith-based organizations,and communitygroups to host sneak previews,community dialogues,and events that help build longtermalliances.All of these elements came togetherin “Well-Founded Fear,” ShariRobertson and Michael Camerini’sstunning, two-hour film about the processof applying for political asylum.Filmed almost entirely in offices of theU.S. Immigration and NaturalizationService (INS), it focused on eachperson’s effort to persuade an officerof a “well-founded fear of persecutionon grounds of race, religion, nationality,membership in a particular socialgroup, or political opinion” in his orher home country. In case after harrowingcase, a single interview determinedwho would stay in the UnitedStates and who would be sent home.Our work with community leadersprior to the June 2000 broadcast of thisdocumentary on “P.O.V.” assured awide range of responses afterwards. Inthe San Francisco Bay area, a group ofclergy decided to meet with INS officialsin an attempt to improve conditionsin the holding areas and officeswhere those interviews took place. InNorth Carolina, asylum attorneys receivedoffers from other lawyers towork pro bono on asylum cases. InMinnesota’s Twin Cities, a communityin which 75 languages are spoken, theprogram was the hook for organizeddialogues among organizationsthat work withimmigrant and refugeegroups. In every one ofthese communities,conversations emergedabout the “opportunity”to make one’s home inthe United States andabout what this countrycould and should standfor in this new era ofglobalization.Some of the documentaryfilmmakerswho work with us do sobecause they are activistsand want to inspirecollective action. Othersbring a journalisticbackground to theirwork and do not take aposition on how orwhether their work triggersa community response.Regardless ofthe filmmaker’s orientation,our role in workingwith them remainsthe same: We want toencourage well-researchedand powerfuldocumentary work thatoffers people a way toengage in meaningfuldiscussion about complexissues that havesuch an impact on howwe interact with one anotherpersonally andpolitically. At a time when so manyrandom bits of information are thrownat viewers from so many sources, thereis abundant need for places to turnwhere thoughtful, engaging and sometimesprovocative insights can begleaned from visual storytelling. Thoseare the destinations that TRI is trying tocreate. ■Ellen Schneider is executive directorof “Active Voice,” a division ofAmerican Documentary, Inc. Shewas with “P.O.V.” for 10 years, mostrecently as executive producer.ellen@pov.org56 Nieman Reports / Fall 2001