Read this article from Cause Global.
“Upheavals in the news business have created a shortage of people telling deep and complex stories about critical issues in society, says Cara Mertes, director of the Sundance documentary film program, and that gap is giving rise to a new trend, what Mertes calls “self-designated storytelling”—amateur filmmakers stepping in to fill the void.
We caught up with Mertes last week at the Skoll World Forum in Oxford to talk about the changes. “Storytelling is, increasingly, a form of intervention,” she told Cause Global. What follows is an edited transcript of that conversation…”
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My documentary is on Asian massage parlors in Rhode Island where prostitution is legal. I just documented the subject, and didn’t get involved, but this is a social issue that is very important, especially because of the human trafficking issues. After I finished the film I did testify at legislative hearings. I think it is great that the cost of making films have come down so much that anyone can do it and spread the word on topics they think are important.
That sounds like a really compelling film!