Following the success of the first Video for Change Environmental Impact Lab, EngageMedia is excited to begin the final round of the Impact Lab with a brand new group of participants. Just like the previous group, the six participants of the second Lab are filmmakers, video collectives, and campaigners currently using film to tackle environmental issues and eager to explore how to maximise their respective film’s potential for social impact.

From June to August 2021, Impact Lab participants will learn about tried and tested concepts for impact campaign building through mentoring sessions with the Lab’s experienced impact producers and strategists, masterclasses with guest speakers working as campaigners and impact producers, and individual sessions that will allow each participant to dive deep into the unique contexts of their film and impact campaigns.

Here are the six selected participants and their films:

1. Albert Bansa, Kampung Petoh
   Albert is the director of Kampung Petoh, a short documentary that tells the story of a young indigenous woman in Malaysia trying to protect her village and the surrounding natural conservation area against a plan to introduce industrial paddy farming. The film aims to raise awareness on this issue and hopes to empower the community to protect their land.
2. Arden Rod Condez, Hunting Season
   Arden is working with environmentalists, forest rangers, and teachers in the Northwest Panay Peninsula National Park, Philippines, to tell the story of forest rangers protecting the rainforests from illegal loggers and poachers. While highlighting the forest rangers’ stories, Hunting Season will also interview illegal loggers and poachers in order to better understand their motivations and what needs to change to protect the national park.
3. Dulamkhorloo Baatar, Enemy from the North: Yellow Dust Storms
   Dulamkhorloo Baatar, or Duuya, is part of the Nest Center for Journalism Innovation and Development. She is working on a documentary that tells the story of the yellow dust storms frequently occurring in Mongolia, and how these storms are impacting Mongolia and other Asian countries. As part of the project, Duuya is working with local journalists to document the stories of communities most impacted by the storms.
4. Gladys Llanes, Bantay Bukid (Forest Guards)
   Gladys is a documentary filmmaker, media producer, and aspiring impact producer from the Philippines. Together with her team, she is working on Forest Guards, a documentary about the forest guards protecting the last frontier of the world’s rarest eagle, the Philippine eagle, in the mountains of Mindanao. The Philippine eagle’s habitat is constantly threatened by wildlife poaching, agricultural expansion, mining, and forest fires. The film will highlight the forest guards, who themselves are struggling to sustain their jobs, and their essential role in the eagle’s survival.
5. Joanna Vasquez Arong, Ang Pagpakalma sa Unos (To Calm the Pig Inside)
   Joanna, founder and producer of Old Fool Studio, is behind To Calm the Pig Inside, a film depicting the devastating results of super typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. Through this film, Joanna hopes to raise awareness of the global effects of climate change and create social impact within communities struggling to address the effects of climate change.
6. Onarisa Sapsompong, Mountain of Trash
   Mountain of Trash, a short documentary about a communal dumpsite in Chonburi, Thailand, hopes to bring change to the affected community through knowledge and capacity building. The film raises public awareness by presenting powerful and thought-provoking images about the climate crisis happening in Thailand. Onarisa and her team believe that their work can help to inform the community about the damaging effects of the dumpsite and bring them together to collectively address this issue.

In this second round, Leah Borromeo, a journalist and documentary filmmaker from London, joins the Lab as a mentor, replacing Hollie Fifer.

The Impact Lab is grounded on the Video for Change Impact Toolkit, a comprehensive guide that helps Video for Change practitioners design for and evaluate social impact. It is also an introduction to the field of impact production, the importance of which is explained in the video What is Impact Production?

Stay tuned to follow these aspiring impact producers’ learning journey, stories, and insights. Subscribe as well to the EngageMedia newsletter and our other platforms to learn more about future Impact Lab opportunities, and to stay updated on the current Impact Lab participants’ progress.