Return to flip book view
Stay home with an Earth Day Watch Party CASE STUDY Using film to drive climate action in a time of social distancing May 2020
WHO WE ARE About Exposure Labs EARTH DAY WATCH PARTY Using film to connect us on Earth Day s 50th Anniversary OUR IMPACT A look at the results from across the Earth Day watch party community LESSONS FOR THE FIELD Insights for the film advocacy community in continuing to use film to advance climate action 2
WHO WE ARE Part film production company part impact production company Exposure Labs is a unique hybrid of the creation and distribution of stories FILM IN THE FIELD Building on the impact campaigns for our films Chasing Ice and Chasing Coral our team has launched Film in the Field This new program helps the advocacy community use film as part of their field organizing to reach new audiences and accelerate climate action Earth Day Watch Party is the first of many forthcoming efforts to offer more films beyond our own as part of this work 3
EARTH DAY WATCH PARTY A look at the program With in person Earth Day gatherings canceled this year to curb the spread of COVID 19 Exposure Labs invited groups and individuals to host an Earth Day Watch Party using film to convene digitally and mobilize people to take collective action at home The program consisted of the following components 1 FEATURED FILMS 2 WATCH PARTY GUIDE 3 LIVE Q A If our generation wants to win a government that cares about COVID 19 and climate change we need stories The work of climate storytellers is to anchor this massive crisis in real life Jeremy Ornstein Storytelling Strategist Sunrise Movement 4
1 FEATURED FILMS With COVID 19 top of mind our featured films evoked themes of resilience justice and conservation to help connect the dots between these two crises Water Warriors and COOKED Survival by Zip Code helped highlight the many structural inequalities present in our climate crisis whereas Lowland Kids and Chasing Coral transported viewers beyond their couches for a reminder of why we need to protect the natural world and the many places we call home When an energy company begins searching for natural gas in New Brunswick Canada indigenous and white families unite to protect their water and way of life In the summer of 1995 Chicago experienced an unthinkable heat wave when extremely high humidity and a layer of heat retaining pollution drove the heat index up to more than 126 degrees endangering a largely elderly black community As climate change erases the Louisiana coast the last two teenagers on Isle de Jean Charles fight to stay on an island that s been their family home for generations Coral reefs around the world are vanishing at an unprecedented rate Divers photographers and scientists set out on an ocean adventure to discover why the reefs are disappearing and to reveal the underwater mystery to the world 5
2 WATCH PARTY GUIDE To support groups and individuals our robust Earth Day Watch Party Planning Guide offered step by step instructions for hosting meaningful events while at home The Guide included streaming instructions discussion guides outreach templates and a handful of party favors to make the experience more interactive and lively We sourced several calls to action for folks to drive climate action together as well as an expanded list of resources specific to organizing and taking action during this time of COVID 19 3 LIVE Q A 60 people tuned in for our live Q A along with many more accessing it on the Earth Day Live local feed The event offered a space for participants to collectively reflect on how we can use film and storytelling to drive climate action in a time of social distancing and ask questions of our featured filmmakers and organizers By sharing trailers from the films and playing music from our Earth Day playlist the event felt like a community gathering casual and fun and was successful in bringing participants together while apart 6
OUR IMPACT 280 registered watch parties 30 countries As of 5 8 20 Group types included 32 68 Hosted as an individual Hosted as a group 35 000 Performing arts centers Schools student associations Churches interfaith groups Corporate sustainability teams Conservation organizations Campaigns for political office Offices of sustainability 41 impressions on social media City resource agencies Youth advocacy groups Boys girls clubs Hackathons Aquariums Dive clubs Yoga studios planned to watch multiple films 4 000 views of live Q A 7
OUR IMPACT ORGANIZING TOOL Film was a valuable tool for many groups in sustaining Earth Day activities during a time of social distancing With major plans in place to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and little time to pivot film offered a versatile resource for many groups to host their events virtually Groups such as Defend our Future League of Conservation Voters U S Department of Arts Culture Athena Coalition Peoples Climate Movement and more featured watch parties as part of their Earth Day programming Was the use of film valuable in moving mobilizations online 3 75 5 average rating Source Post watch party survey EarthDayWatchParty In response to this moment Exposure Labs is creating a library of films and tools to support groups in moving their Earth Day mobilizations online and individuals in celebrating without physical convenings 8
OUR IMPACT ORGANIZING TOOL 9
OUR IMPACT PERSONAL RELEVANCE Despite the noise of the current pandemic storytelling helped make climate action more personally relevant Cooked was SO timely given COVID and thinking about failures in our disaster response planning Gave me a new view into a problem I have been working on Alexis Goggans Be Bold Services The film s strengthened my conviction to issues in my neighborhood but they also opened my eyes and brought personal stories about families and individuals in indigenous neighborhoods Was the use of film effective in making climate action more personally relevant 4 5 5 average rating Source Post watch party survey Betty Crowder Individual host At every step of making this film I asked What kind of disaster does it have to take for us to see reckon with feel and purposefully address the fact that structural racism and systemic disparity kills people Will it be the next hottest summer on record And now will it be this pandemic Judith Helfand Director COOKED Survival by Zip Code Images Lowland Kids Water Warriors 10
OUR IMPACT ACTIONS Watch parties offered a distributed way to take collective action on efforts being lifted up this Earth Day the films made me think about how we need to get information in front of the right audience policy makers Rick Forrest Educator 400 click throughs to featured CTAs Participating in the StrikeWithUs digital rally Joining We the Planet s day of action Calling for just COVID 19 recovery Attending Alliance for Climate Education s live event Joining a Sunrise School training We tried to position Water Warriors as a tool for people to see a concrete example of success in the climate movement Michael Premo Director Water Warriors Images Sunrise movement People s Bailout 11
OUR IMPACT ACTIONS In addition they served as a catalyst for a range of creative host inspired actions Cloud computing company Okta partnered with City Surf Project and used their watch party as a fundraiser donating 1 for every attendee to City Surf Project an organization which exposes urban youth to the ocean Our Kids Montreal used their watch party to coordinate letters to federal Qu becois and city politicians demanding a just green COVID 19 recovery Oregon s Dept of State Lands engaged people in stewardship actions in their backyards as a way to educate and model the conservation efforts underway in the South Slough Reserve and those that are needed across the state Black Girls Dive Foundation connected their watch party to the launch of Project Coral a new eco STEM initiative that provides youth in underserved communities with hands on conservation experiences like dive training and 3D coral printing Among other actions the Children s Environmental Health Network engaged guests in submitting comments on the EPA s new secret science rule which would limit the agency s use of studies that conceal their underlying data Inspired by the story of Water Warriors the Panamericano school in Colombia engaged students and teachers in using their voice to protect the Paramos the ecosystem that provides 85 of Colombia s drinking water 12
OUR IMPACT COMMUNITY While not gathering physically watch parties and our live Q A created a much needed sense of community Close to 1am our time but I had to stay up to join The incredible activity that s been emerging online including environmental activism mutual aid and so much more during this time is giving me a great deal of hope for a brighter future Caz Watson World Wildlife Fund UK The use of film is something I would recommend to others 4 9 5 average rating Source Post watch party survey Watching as a group has so much more potential impact than watching alone Even virtually it was a spirited discussion Alan Thomas Beacon Sloop Club It s beautiful how the youth are giving a voice to kids all over America This isn t just happening in Louisiana Sandra Winther Director Lowland Kids 13
OUR IMPACT FUTURE COLLABORATION Participants and filmmakers expressed enthusiasm for continuing to use this model for future collaboration at least 2 watch party guests want to organize their own watch party with their church or community group The use of film is something I intend to use again in 2020 Alexis Goggans Be Bold Services To help the advocacy community continue to use film during this time of social distancing we are working to make these tools and a growing library of films available as an ongoing resource Some of the future moments groups cited interest in using this model during include Worker strikes e g Cyber Monday World Oceans Day Indigenous People s Day World Environment Day 4 6 5 average rating Source Post watch party survey May Day Solidarity actions National Voter Registration Day 2020 election milestones The more that we can join together to inspire our communities to take action on climate change the more of a chance we have to survive the climate crisis We are grateful to Exposure Labs for coordinating such a powerful collective effort and recognizing the importance of sharing a story about indigenous leadership in this fight Rachel Falcone Producer Water Warriors 14 11 14
LEARNINGS FOR THE FIELD We launched Earth Day Watch Party to offer film as a tool for groups and individuals to celebrate Earth Day s 50th anniversary while practising social distancing Embracing a spirit of experimentation we see it as a testing ground of sorts for identifying best practices and new models for using film to convene virtually Through our own team s reflections and feedback collected from hosts we have compiled our learnings here to support others in the film and advocacy community in hosting future watch parties or whatever kind of virtual storytelling event you might dream up We intend to continue to build on this document with learnings through future watch party efforts Explore our evolving Virtual Screenings learnings here 15
THANKS GRATITUDE To participating film teams panelists COOKED Survival by Zip Code Judith Helfand Director Kathy Leichter Engagement Strategist Water Warriors Michael Premo Director Rachel Falcone Producer Lowland Kids Sandra Winther Director William Crouse Producer Sunrise Movement Jeremy Orenstein Storytelling Strategist To our generous funders who make this work possible 16
AND A FINAL THANK YOU To our many watch party hosts participants League of Conservation Voters Oregon League of Conservation Voters New Hampshire League of Conservation Voters Virginia League of Conservation Voters Peoples Climate Movement U S Department of Arts Culture World Wildlife Fund UK Athena Coalition Evangelical Reformed United Church of Christ Defend Our Future Defend Our Future Colorado Universidad de Guadalajara Holmlund Family Coastal Impact Sail for Climate Action Littleton Garden Gang C rculo de Aikido Tijuana CL Wanderings com Bryanston School SubCom Be Bold Services Waubonsie Valley High School Catalina Island Marine Institute Henry County Concerned Citizens FuturePeopleX Continuing Learning Group Lancaster University Raising Coral Foundation Climate at Home Ocean Collective LLC Farmington Land Trust Office of Sustainability Princeton University Budapest University of Technology and Economics New Branches Charter Academy Woodinville Garden Club Climate SOS Film Series Peace Day Philly Caravan Lab Okta Santa Clara University Wayne County Community College The Alan Turing Institute Club Nomad PLT Sarasota county schools Palm Springs Boys Girls Club North Star Academy AFS International Exchange Program Chicago RV Glass Solutions Colegio Panamericano ERUCC Loyola University of Maryland EAC Climate Smart Missoula Central Middle School The Mott Hall School Environmental Student Association Children s Environmental Health Network 1000 Mermaids Artificial Reef Project City As School BLACK GIRLS DIVE FOUNDATION Corales de Paz llanotur com South Slough Reserve Together Films Bud Werner Memorial Library The Beacon Sloop Club S C R A P Gallery Compound Yellow Climate Protectors Muni Lesher Middle School Shark Stewards The Island School For Our Kids Montreal Smith Center for the Arts Park Watershed Youth Assisting Youth 17