ShareDoc’s new partner SIMA Studios

 

Daniela Kon Lieberberg founder of SIMA Studios explains why ShareDoc is a good match:

ShareDoc plays a significant role in this ecosystem…

SIMA is committed to amplifying the impact that storytelling can ignite long after the credits roll, and we’ve learned that investing in people is what brings about lasting change. ShareDoc plays a significant role in this ecosystem, offering immediate opportunities for audiences to invest in the individuals whose stories inspired them and the causes they are now motivated to champion. It’s a powerful and accessible way to propel impact beyond the screen, one that’s replicable and is making a meaningful contribution to the field.

You’re a veteran impact producer over two decades, were you one of the first?

This was before there was a job description that was called
“impact producer or impact strategist,”…

I used to be a documentary filmmaker working in the humanitarian sector between South East Asia and West Africa, starting in Cambodia in 2004. I saw a tremendous need for local distribution of films that could bring communities together around the issues that mattered to them. Working for international organizations, we were commissioned to produce films only to play on the heartstrings of international donors. But investing in people to drive the direction of their own development and progress was key, and using film and screening events to create a forum for awareness building and discussion, and a meeting point for people and groups working to solve local issues provided a vital opportunity for collaboration.

This was before there was a job description that was called “impact producer or impact strategist,but I considered myself more of a producer/relationship-builder amongst groups and stakeholders that had unique insight or solutions and ought to be working together. Being able to enter a community and a place where human rights and basic needs are scarce, I saw the job of a filmmaker as one with more responsibilities than just capturing the moments and circumstances for audiences far away. Your access to people and organizations during the process of production, and the relationships that you can facilitate during that time, can often bring about more change and greater impact than just the end result of having a film itself. Films don’t change anything. People do.

And how did the documentary industry look back then?

We’ve definitely come a long way from
the hero vs. victim narratives….

The field of social issue documentaries has changed dramatically for the better in the last 20 years.There is a lot more accountability and awareness of the pitfalls of representation thanks to many organizations and advocates of ethical storytelling and production practices. We’ve definitely come a long way from the hero vs. victim narratives that rob local communities of their dignity to serve a saviour complex mentality, but there is also a lot more room to grow and improve all aspects of filmmaking, financing and exhibition practices. From access to funding for emerging talent, and strategic investments in impact campaigns, to innovations in distribution avenues that optimize the conditions for impact, I think we will continue to see a lot of necessary change and improvements.


SIMA Studios has 4 programs, which program are you most proud of?

Honestly, I’m extremely proud of all of them and the way they are vertically integrated
to support an ecosystem for creative impact.

SIMA Awards are our acquisitions pipeline where we get to celebrate filmmakers from across the globe annual. Cinema Across Borders, our global traveling series, allows us to invest in the work of local leaders and organizations hosting screenings in places where SIMA selected films would not otherwise be seen. Traditional distributors don’t have interest or jurisdiction in many regions in the Global South and being able to offer an avenue to filmmakers into community forums where their films are inspiring conversations, mobilizing youth to action, and building partnerships between groups that confront and solve local challenges, is basically why we wake up in the morning.

In the same way, SIMA Academy, our education platform, is investing in the capacity of educators and institutions to teach global themes in a way that appeals to today’s students. The media literacy and cross-cultural education they gain by traveling the globe through SIMA films is an invaluable experience that we see transcending out of classrooms into students' lives.
With our Fiscal Sponsorship program year-round, we get to support visionaries and creators at any level of production, sometimes in development stages where we get to help projects get started, or out into the world, ready for distribution, campaigns and impact.

Witnessing the ripple effects of our programs and receiving notes from activists, audience members, or teachers—who share how their students have come alive—we're fortunate to support filmmakers, educators, and changemakers in pursuing what they love.

ShareDoc is supporting the protagonist or the story not for funding films.
Are filmmakers who need producing funds welcome at SIMA?

We invite all filmmakers to explore our Fiscal Sponsorship that allows you to seek grants and solicit tax-deductible donations via SIMA for your project. And SIMA Awards that is open for entries during September and October for documentary features, documentary shorts, impact videos, XR projects, production companies and impact campaigns.