As Impact Producer for Prison Dogs — a documentary film that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and screened around the U.S. and Canada — I focused on getting the word out about the film and its larger lessons, so that we could make an impact after the credits rolled, continuing the conversation with the audience. I think of it as “the story behind the story,” in this case, the larger themes of prison reform and high recidivism rates, as well as the invisible wounds of war experienced by our veterans who return from the battlefield with PTSD. On a strategic level, I thought about how to tell the story in bite (or byte) sized pieces, whether on our website, social media, or with affinity groups who care deeply about these issues. On a tactical level, I created a press kit, press release, built and maintained our website and social media channels, coordinated with film festivals and other screening venues where the filmmaking team held Q&As and panel talks, conducted outreach to potential partners and to press, and gave the audience the tools to share our story as well as the resources to get involved so that they too could make an impact.
