Film, Media & Story

The NEXUS Working Group on Film, Media & Story encourages its members to participate in projects that engage traditional and new forms of storytelling around the world to harness the power of film to change the world

History of our Working Group on Film, Media & Story

Our Working Group emerged from conversations hosted by Amanda Cole with filmmakers, foundations, and executives during the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. In December 2014, SJ (who was in attendance for the initial conversations) joined Amanda as Co-Chair. Since then, our members have activated delegations at major industry events like Goodpitch, Sundance, and SXSW; hosted private industry dinners; partnered in hosting industry think tanks; supported major impact campaigns and releases; and served on numerous boards, committees, and focus groups, including at the White House, United Nations, and in Hollywood.

Mission

The WG on FMS brings together emerging voices and seasoned creatives and executives in the industry with the purpose of building a supportive community of peers, a network to mutually bolster the release of projects, and the ultimate goal of harnessing the power of storytelling for social impact.

OUR AMBASSADORS

Farhoud Meybodi

NEXUS Working Group Co-Chair for Film Media and Story

Founder of Cadre, and Co-Owner of Wayfarer Entertainment, Farhoud Meybodi is a writer, director, and executive producer focused on “disruptively inspirational” storytelling content across scripted, unscripted, and branded distribution channels. Unlike many creatives in the entertainment business, Farhoud started his career in law, and spent his mid-twenties climbing up the corporate ladder as a sales and marketing Executive for a global luxury brand.

This non-traditional background gave Farhoud a marketers mindset — something he draws upon frequently when helping brands, TV networks, non-profits, studios and NGO’s connect with audiences through the magic of empathy and human connection. Farhoud is also a firm believer in the power of “anti-branded content,” a term he coined that represents innovative branded integration’s rooted in universal brand values rather than forced sales conversations. At his core, Farhoud is passionate about creative content that entertains, educates and inspires.

Mostly recently, Farhoud directed and executive produced Season Four of My Last Days, an award-winning documentary series about life told by courageous people living with a terminal illness, for the CW Network. He developed, and executive produced Chefs Without Borders, a documentary series featuring celebrity Chef, Curtis Stone, and Actress/Model, Lindsay Price, as they journey from Los Angeles to Tanzania to live with, and learn from three Indigenous tribes, each representing a unique perspective on food insecurity. Farhoud also developed, executive produced and wrote Man Enough, a dinner conversation series featuring Scooter Braun, Anderson Silva, Justin Baldoni, Matt McGorry, Javier Munoz, Prince EA, Derek Hough, Tony Porter, Aydian Dowling and Jamey Heath that explores the heart of traditional masculinity in America. Farhoud created, developed and executive produced Project Upgrade, an unscripted series for Google featuring YouTube stars, The Merrell Twins, as they set out to design and build a new consumer product with the help of successful, female mentors from Google, Space X, NASA, and Disney. Farhoud has also developed and directed national campaigns for Subaru, Kellogg’s, MetroPCS, and The Ad Council, and sold several scripted pitches to major studios and television networks.

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Will Jenkins

NEXUS Working Group Vice Chair for Film Media and Story

Will Jenkins has more than a decade of communications and policy experience at the White House, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Congress and international nonprofit organizations. Over the years, he has also worked with many filmmakers and other media makers on stories that engage public policy and social issues. During his time in the federal government, Will served as a spokesperson

to news outlets on a wide range of issues, including criminal justice reform, drug policy, immigration, public health, national security and education.

At the White House, he helped plan interviews and events with President Obama and senior officials for documentaries airing on PBS/Frontline, MTV, Showtime and other outlets. He has overseen high profile events and policy announcements featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA TODAY and The Washington Post, including a successful year-long campaign for $1 billion in new funding for addiction treatment. He has managed appearances for government officials on Meet the Press, Morning Joe, 60 Minutes and The Colbert Report. As a legislative aide in Congress, he guided from introduction to enactment the first legislation to protect American military members from the health effects of toxic burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan, which has been called this generation’s Agent Orange.

Will has trained or advised hundreds of filmmakers and other media makers on impact strategies through the Sundance Institute, South by Southwest, the Tribeca Film Institute, the Fledgling Fund, Good Pitch, Picture Motion, and other organizations. He was Policy Director for the Impact Film Festival at the 2012 Republican and Democratic National Conventions, where he coordinated screening discussions with politicians, filmmakers, celebrities and reporters. In 2013, he developed the American Film Institute’s first Political Bootcamp for Filmmakers. He is co-author of a report series on films and policymaking published through American University (http://cmsimpact.org/report/movies-go-washington-documentary-films-public-policy-united-states-vol-1/).

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Values:

Our Working Group is built around pillars of inclusivity, dialogue, education, and impact.

Inclusivity. Any NEXUS Member is welcome to participate. In fact, we encourage the collision of members from different industries so that, together, we can not only shape the entertainment industry, but also provoke shifts in storytelling across the board.

Dialogue. We welcome open and difficult discussions, held in hospitable fashion and in a climate of mutual respect and friendship. Thanks to this thriving environment, there’s no topic that’s too challenging for us to take on — from human trafficking to addiction or the devastation of the planet.

Education. From traditional distribution platforms to brain science on story and emerging forms of VR or AI, we provide members with access to cutting edge forms of storytelling and technology.

Impact. By supporting and bringing to the table creatives, executives and investors, we aim to generate tangible impact in the entertainment industry by creating meaningful opportunities for emerging partnership and shaping mainstream conversations around pressing social and human issues.

When Movies go to Washington Policy Paper

NEXUS Film, Media and Story leader Will Jenkins wrote a policy paper titled “When Movies go to Washington” highlighting the role of documentary films in legislative and regulatory change and influence in the United States Congress: http://cmsimpact.org/report/movies-go-washington-documentary-films-public-policy-united-states-vol-1/

Our Programming

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Speaker Series

Speaker series with filmmakers, media personalities and leaders in film, media and storytelling

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Sundance

NEXUS Film, Media and Story has had a long running relationship and programming at Sundance to promote upcoming documentary filmmakers

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Delegations

Collaborations with other Working Groups to show the influence and power of film and storytelling in the realms of climate change, human trafficking, equal justice, indigenous issues and other fields

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Exclusive Salons

Salon dinners with international filmmakers and media members in intimate settings

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Support of Documentary Filmmakers

Film, Media and Story has long advocated on behalf of important causes for rising filmmakers producing critical pieces and docs by hosting film screenings, salons and organizing panels at NEXUS summits