Origin stories

Origin stories is a working name for a project that runs in cycles. ht.live funds small teams to produce short films, likely under ten minutes, telling the origin stories of civic efforts and nonprofit organisations, along with the other parts of their identity: what they believe, how they speak, what marks them out.

How a cycle runs

1. The call. I publish a list of issues and a list of organisations working on them, and ask for six teams.
2. The match. Each team takes one issue and works with one organisation as its client, making a ten-minute film to a shared format.
3. The teams. People who want to keep working creatively in film and acting. It is not volunteer work: each team gets a stipend, a structure, and a real client to focus on.
4. The showcase. At the end of the cycle the films screen at ht.live, and perhaps at a local cinema.
5. The fundraisers. The six organisations then use the films together, holding joint events to raise awareness and celebrate what the cycle produced.

What each side gets

The organisations get a professionally made origin story. The filmmakers get paid, structured work with a real client. The studio gets a slate of films, a showcase night, and a place at the centre of six organisations' fundraising.