Distribution

Being a photojournalist stepping into the doc film world was refreshing, new, and had a steep learning curve. I’m still learning.

I always thought grassroots, independent distribution is where this work belongs. Grassroots distribution puts the work in the hands of communities; they take ownership of the work and the issue, creating a movement on their terms.

This happens by talking about the work, responding to every email, working social media, making up your own press tour, and taking the content to the audience where they live, not by locking it into some traditional publishing model.

I often hear photojournalists talk about making a difference, but once the story is published, they’re paid a paltry editorial fee, maybe win an award, then they move on. While I firmly believe these news gatherers must be eye witnesses for the world, I also think so much more can be done with their work.

Sometimes journalism is not enough. There needs to be follow through, be it through a partner organization or by the journalist him or herself.

Detective Joel Banks with the Seatac Police Department recalls one of the many stories from his training days. The ghosts stay with him. “It’s a lot to deal with mentally,” Banks said. “You can’t bring it home.”

Fermenting Change

The general public needs a 101 class and the policy makers need help with their post-docs. Both can benefit from the film, which is meant for broad audience outreach, but the engagement program I’m developing with A Fourth Act, supported in part by the Fledgling Fund, is where the policy change occurs.

Too many cops criminalize sex workers, adult and child both, without asking the question, “Is this person being exploited?” First responders need to understand what victim-centric policing is.

“The engagement project opened dialogue,” said Tina Harris, Domestic Violence Victim Advocate with the Renton Police Department. “It allowed for real time feedback … about attitudes and beliefs … and how community and government may be able to work together…With this interactive approach prevention and education curriculum can be developed.”

The goal is for the audience to develop empathy, to see possible solutions.

“As prosecutors, we read about this aspect of life on the streets all the time in police reports,” said Ann Summers, Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for King County, Seattle. “We hear witnesses testify to it, but to actually see it happening gives us a much deeper understanding.”

As this unfolds, I’ve connected with regional task forces, using the film to start the conversation then having partners piggy-back training or the Leaving the Life engagement program. The King County prosecutor and sheriff are championing the program within county government; we’re currently planning an agency-wide convening.

This is only part of what I have in mind. As the movement grows, I intend to build a platform out of existing components, bringing in more measuring and engagement tools. I want to tell more stories, or hire other journalists to do this. I’m starting with the #leavingthelife on the instagram @leavingthelife. Modeled after @everydayeverywhere, I want to build community by crowdsourcing stories of hope and overcoming.

But from the journalism seat, chiefly what’s missing is a story on demand; who are the buyers and pimps? What is their story? What about the consenting sex workers? I believe all voices need to be heard; that’s the journalist in me.