May 2023 Update from IRIS

May 2023 Update

It has been a busy spring for IRIS! With big events for the first time since 2021, we have enjoyed an exhilarating and intense season of reconnections and new introductions. Moving through our second year, IRIS is remaining virtual-first, with flexible hours that are defined by deliverables and regular virtual meetings to build our culture and move activities forward. Rather than equating productivity with daily presence in an office, IRIS is reversing the formula and seizing opportunities to meet in person several times a year, while remaining predominantly virtual in our day-to-day. We are striving to maintain the “whole person” phenomenon of the pandemic era, where people’s roles as family, community and professionals are more blended and less siloed.

In March, Geneva hosted the 21st International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights (FIFDH), along with its groundbreaking Impact Days program. Impact Days forges alliances between filmmakers, policymakers, development agencies and funders. IRIS is proud to support this expanding initiative and its 150 participants from 34 countries in a series of global case studies, talks, training sessions and curated networking opportunities. IRIS also supports key new networks to help them coalesce, including the Global Impact Producers Alliance (GIPA) and two of its regional hubs (MENA and Latin America). During FIFDH, GIPA holds an annual retreat supported by the Geneva-based StoryBoard Collective.

Following a productive week in Geneva, CPH:DOX in Copenhagen entered its 20th year, now as a leading international documentary film festival of nearly 200 films. I hadn’t attended in some time, and it was a treat to be back presenting on several panels and meeting with a number of terrific projects in development as we establish an IRIS content fund. CPH:DOX is known for its high-quality industry “pitch” sessions, where film teams present their ideas to commissioning editors, funders and other stakeholders.

Copenhagen’s glorious Royal Theater, an art deco stunner, was packed for all three days of presentations, but despite the encouraging attendees, the interests of streamers and broadcasters have never seemed further away from the array of outstanding cinematic stories and styles being presented from around the world. Brian Newman’s Sub-Genre newsletter gives an insider’s look at the event.

Audience at the Royal Theater during CPH:DOX

April brought more convening power. In Oxford, England, the Skoll World Forum reconvened for its 20th anniversary for the largest forum to date; 1,400 people from every region participated. IRIS’ Latin America Lead Graciela Selaimen and Narrative Lead Brett Davidson joined me for a week of meetings and discussions as we enter the second year of partnership with the Skoll Foundation. A highlight of the week was IRIS and the Skoll Foundation co-hosting the first Storytellers’ Community Breakfast, gathering over 100 story stakeholders—our virtual postcard captures the impressive range and diversity—from across the Forum. U.S. folklore and narrative specialist Dr. Kern Jackson and Descendant film director Margaret Brown, invited by our friends at Participant Media, screened their award-winning film. Their presentation sparked deeply-felt conversation about story, generational representation, moral courage and the power of human imagination.

SWF Storytellers’ Community Breakfast

I followed 2023 SWF with TED, as a guest of the inspiring TED Fellows Program, currently being reimagined in some powerful ways. Adding to the experience was the presence of IRIS’ Executive Producer-in-Residence (and TED speaker!) Dr. Mehret Mandefro. As you might expect from a TED conference, the hot topic of conversation defining the week was hyper-current: AI. We were seriously spooked and then deeply inspired by the possibilities. For TED speakers, the big questions revolved around demanding AI regulation before it’s too late. Yuval Noah Harari makes a memorable case for this in his recent Economist article. All to say: stay tuned for the future—it’s never been closer!

@Large from Brazil: Journalism, public interest & democracy

Our latest @LargeContent guest blog comes from Paula Miraglia, CEO and Co-Founder of Brazil’s Nexo Jornal online news outlet. In the context of a deeply contentious presidential election last year, Nexo dropped its paywall to make all election-related coverage accessible to everyone. Read Paula’s piece in the original Portuguese, English or Spanish and be inspired by Nexo’s commitment to find a business model that doesn’t sacrifice trust or integrity: “We have been rewarded with a unique relationship of trust with our readers,” Paula writes. “The value of this trust is essential to the long-term sustainability of any media organization and, more broadly, to the health of any democracy.”

A Virtual Postcard from Latin America: Tertúlia

Last year, IRIS Regional Lead Graciela Selaimen partnered with the OSF Latin America Program and its grantees for the Tertúlia gatherings. In this close-knit community, we discussed the power of narrative with Brett Davidson; harnessed the power of Latin American and Caribbean organizations’ social-media listening skills; learned from super-weaver Marcio Black and renowned philosopher Muniz Sodré; and reviewed the ecosystem and listening research conducted last year by IRIS Latin America Researcher Carol Misorelli. As we launch into a second year, we’re celebrating the first year of togetherness with an IRIS virtual postcard, created by our own Zuhé González.

Last year, an IRIS delegation attended the Landscapes of Hope’s Requiem for Justice Festival, a community event by and for 22 civil society organizations from around the globe. The four-day event featured more than 60 artists and activists from more than 15 countries. One particularly moving performance by Syrian composer Kinan Azmeh and Syrian-Armenian visual artist Kevork Mourad resonated with IRIS’ Laila Hourani, who shared her thoughts about Home Within on our blog. Read it here.

Tribute to earthquake victims by Syrian artist Haitham Sayegh

Laila’s support of Landscapes of Hope (LoH) through a partnership between IRIS and Mimeta continues. You can join a panel discussion including Laila and LoH’s Basma El Husseini at WEXFO2023’s Freedom of Expression and the Protection of Artistic Rights: Are we doing enough? later this month.

“When the lights were turned on to the tune of endless clapping by the audience, I realized that I had not been alone in this transformative journey.” — LAILA HOURANI