Filmmakers for Hillary

From:lpeterson@hillaryclinton.com To: john.podesta@gmail.com, kschake@hillaryclinton.com, re47@hillaryclinton.com, ha16@hillaryclinton.com, mharris@hillaryclinton.com, tcarrk@hillaryclinton.com CC: tgoff@hillaryclinton.com, kdowd@hillaryclinton.com, jlowenstein@hillaryclinton.com, mfisher@hillaryclinton.com, mtaylor@hillaryclinton.com, skos@hillaryclinton.com Date: 2015-09-14 18:46 Subject: Filmmakers for Hillary

Hi everyone -- Attached (and pasted in the text of this email) is a memo outlining a new project digital is proposing: Filmmakers for Hillary. We are sending this to you for your preliminary ideas, suggestions, or flags. The bottom line is that we would like to begin outreach to filmmakers who would produce short film spots for us in support of the campaign. We've spoken to legal, and they are comfortable with the concept. We feel that if done right, this could be a great way to reach new audiences and highlight stories that resonate with voters. Let us know how this sounds to you -- with your approval and input, we would love to begin moving forward with this project next week. Thanks! Lauren Peterson Director of Content and Creative 6082179231 ### Filmmakers for Hillary Hillary Clinton has lived her life in the public eye for more than 25 years. People have gotten to know her through the lens of the media or the narratives of her political opponents. But not enough people know who Hillary is, or where she came from—and we need to change that. In order to win the Democratic Party nomination and ultimately be elected president, Hillary needs to reach people who may be disillusioned or disinterested in politics, and connect with them on an emotional level. We want to enlist talented filmmakers to help tell the untold story, make policy compelling, capture a moment on the campaign trail, and help people get to know our candidate’s background and beliefs. Getting started The digital team will work across the campaign to compile a list of topics, which we will frame as short creative prompts, encompassing a range of topics from personal to policy. A few sample prompts could include: ● Instead of taking a prestigious job after graduating from Yale Law, Hillary chose to work for the Children’s Defense Fund. She’s dedicated her life and career to fighting for children and families. To understand where that drive comes from, you need to understand the story of her mother, Dorothy. ● Forty million Americans have student loans. Together, they owe more than a trillion dollars. Imagine what we could accomplish as a country if Americans weren’t held back by their education debt. ● Hillary was surprised early on in the campaign trail to hear from people in Iowa and New Hampshire who wanted to talk about substance use disorders and addiction. It’s come up over and over again, with people from all walks of life asking Hillary to help solve this epidemic and end the shame and stigma surrounding it. This isn’t an issue that’s driving the polls or popular opinion—d but it has become a topic close to Hillary’s heart because of the stories she has heard across the country. Once we have identified key topics it would be beneficial to help amplify, we will compile a diverse list of filmmakers who are likely to be supportive of Hillary’s campaign and who we think may have a connection with any of these topics. If there is a particular subject area or story we believe would be compelling to an individual filmmaker, we will pitch that topic to them. If not, we will provide a list of 8-10 possible prompts to get them started Once a filmmaker has chosen a topic, they will pitch that topic to the campaign. We will approve the topic and concept or try to guide them in another direction. We will then offer them further background or connect them with a subject matter expert on the campaign if desired. They will cast their film, spend time working on it (using us as a resource when helpful) and return with a final cut. Given that many of these people are likely working on other projects simultaneously, we should allow at least a couple months for them to turn around a finished product. Approvals From talking with other organizations who have run similar programs, it’s clear that the best way to create powerful and effective film is to allow filmmakers to use their own artistic discretion. While we can and should be involved in shaping content and messaging when possible, stylistic edits from the campaign should be minimal or avoided altogether. Filmmakers will have final artistic say over their product, but the campaign will be able to decide whether or not to share that final product publicly. Outstanding questions to finalize before launch ● Identify who will be the liaison to filmmakers ● Are members of the research, policy, and political teams willing to make themselves available (in a limited capacity) to support these filmmakers? ● Will every film and filmmaker need to be vetted? Promotion We will work with the filmmakers and their teams to help promote their films, and the series, to press and on social media. We will publish the short films through a TBD campaign digital platform (though could also provide as an exclusive to press). For the launch of this series, we would attempt to drum up some fanfare and would like to consider hosting a premiere (either as an actual event, or online). Timeline We would like to launch this as soon as we are able, coordinating with the communications team to get the most out of an off-week or call additional attention to a particular topic or event. We would leave this as an open-ended project that could run throughout the duration of the campaign as a way to engage filmmakers, highlight important aspects of our narrative, and engage diverse audiences around key moments. Examples ● Gates Foundation: The Art of Saving a Life ○ http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/07/arts/design/gates-foundation-uses-art-to-encourage-vaccination.html?_r=0 ○ http://artofsavingalife.com/ ● Morgan Spurlock: We the Economy ○ https://wetheeconomy.com/about/ ● Obama for America: The Road We’ve Traveled ○ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2POembdArVo