The Center for Social Media at American University launches a new report on the copyright problems facing doc filmmakers, and invites you to attend the launch on November 8 from 4-6 p.m. at the Washington College of Law, Room 603 (4801 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC)!

The report, Untold Stories: Creative Consequences of the Rights Clearance Culture for Documentary Filmmakers, produced in conjunction with the Program on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest in American University's Washington College of Law and funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, results from dozens of in-depth interviews about rights clearance with documentary filmmakers working in today’s theatrical and TV environment. The report  reveals the lived experience of “clearance culture” and its creative cost.

Find out about doc filmmakers' problems and about practical, achievable ways to fix the problems at the launch It begins with a new short film based on the report, “Stories Untold” by American University professor Brigid Maher. A panel of filmmakers and scholars, moderated by Center director and School of Communication professor Pat Aufderheide, will discuss the issues:

Panelists:
Jim Gilliam (Robert Greenwald Productions)
Grace Guggenheim (Guggenheim Productions)
Peter Jaszi (Washington College of Law)
Michael Madison (University of Pittsburgh Law School)
Jeffrey Tuchman (Documania Films)
Joseph Turow (Annenberg School)

Please join us! For more information: http://centerforsocialmedia.org/rock/index.htm

Also, the report and short film will be available on DVD by December 1. Please contact the address below, including your mailing address, if you would like to receive a copy. All materials will also be available on the website for downloading on Nov. 8. This project is funded by the Rockefeller Foundation.

Agnes Varnum, Assistant Director
Center for Social Media, American University
4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Mary Graydon Center Room 300
Washington, DC 20016-8017
tel: (202) 885-3107, [log in to unmask]

Thanks so much!

Pat Aufderheide, Professor and Director
Center for Social Media, School of Communication
American University