Narrative Power in Motion: Film, Media, and Cultural Strategy for Change
Narrative Power in Motion: Film, Media, and Cultural Strategy for Change
Narratives are not neutral—they shape how we understand the world, whose experiences are valued, and what futures feel possible. For funders, supporting narrative change requires more than resourcing individual stories; it means understanding the ecosystems, relationships, and conditions that allow community-led narratives to take root, travel, and shift culture over time.
This 75-minute webinar, moderated by Mandy Van Deven (Elemental), brings together leaders working at the intersection of film, media, and cultural organizing to discuss narrative power as both an internal practice and an external strategy for cultural and social change. Panelists Sonya Childress (The Color Congress), Fabiana Gibim (Crushing Colonialism), and Kareem Alston-Rosales (Film 4 Good Fund) will reflect on how narrative change has evolved across movements, where momentum is building now, and what it takes to support storytellers, organizers, and media-makers without flattening their work into message delivery.
Grounded in moving-image practice, this discussion will explore how funders can resource narrative infrastructure, support community-led storytelling, and strengthen the cultural conditions that make equity and justice feel not only necessary but possible.
Live captioning will be available in English throughout the webinar. For additional accommodation requests, please contact GIA Senior Program Manager Jaime Sharp (jaime@giarts.org), at least three (3) business days prior to the event.
- Fabiana Gibim, Crushing Colonialism
- Sonya Childress, Color Congress
- Kareem Alston-Rosales, Film 4 Good Fund
- Mandy Van Deven, Elemental (moderator)