POWER TO THE PEOPLE
Impact strategy for documentary filmmakers
You’re making a documentary film that aims to stir up some good trouble. To lift up a voice that needs to be heard. To fix what’s broken. To take a stand for what’s right.
You need a strategy to make sure that happens.
That’s what we do. We are experienced documentary filmmakers who know how to create impact.
We design strategies with messaging that cuts through the white noise, maps out cross-sector partnerships and identifies effective community screening campaigns.We set you up with a road map to run your own campaign (or to hire someone to run it for you).
If you need us along the way, we’re available to consult.
Who We Are
Sara Terry
Sara Terry is the director and producer of the award-winning and impact-making PBS documentary, A Decent Home, about mobile home parks and the wealth gap. A Sundance Documentary Fellow and a Guggenheim Fellow in Photography, her films have been supported by Ford Foundation, Sundance, Cal Humanities, IDA/Pare Lorentz, Jonathan Logan Family Foundation and many others. She has consulted on impact strategy, grant-writing and narrative structure with several documentary directors, including Kimberly Reed (Dark Money), Hao Wu (The People’s Republic of Desire), Michael Collins (Almost Sunrise), Nanfu Wang (One Child Nation), Lisa Hepler (The Human Trial) and Johanna Demetrakas (Feminists: What Were They Thinking?).
Gretchen Landau
Gretchen Landau is a producer and former marketing executive at ABC, ESPN, and Disney. She is co-founder of Drop of Water Entertainment developing the television series MAGGIE, based on a series of 13 books. She co-produced the America Reframed documentary, A DECENT HOME. Gretchen’s producing credits include the Netflix Original documentary, FEMINISTS: WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?, the indie doc FOLK, and an award winning series of short films with producing partners Mindy Cohn and Michael Allen. She served as Production Supervisor for Academy Award-winner Francis Ford Coppola’s film, DISTANT VISION, Talent Liaison & Covid Testing Coordinator for Aubrey Plaza’s film, EMILY THE CRIMINAL and Locations Liaison for SPRINGSTEEN: DELIVER ME FROM NOWHERE.
Concurrent with her production work, Landau built a successful marketing company raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for several films including, RAISE HELL: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins, WHO WILL WRITE OUR HISTORY, SALLY, about feminist icon, Sally Gearhart and SINGING FOR JUSTICE the Faith Petric story.
CONTACT & PRICING
We look forward to hearing from you about your documentary and what you hope to accomplish with it.
Our basic strategy and messaging overview, which takes about two weeks for us to create, includes conversations with you, original research, recommendations for impact producers and crowdfunding consultants, resources for creating supporting materials for your campaign, and a 3-5 page written plan.
Cost: $5,000. Additional advice and feedback available on an hourly or monthly basis, tailored to your needs.