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April 28, 2008

Philanthropists Use Film to Promote Social Causes

“Filmanthropy” has led to the rising popularity of documentaries looking to promote social messages, the Financial Times reports.

That term is often used to describe wealthy philanthropists who give money to movies that call attention to social problems, based on the success of documentaries such An Inconvenient Truth and Fahrenheit 9/11, the newspaper reports.

Some critics say filmanthropy is not practical and that money should be given to efforts such as humanitarian aid.

Ted Leonsis, a technology entrepreneur, defended investing in movies, saying, “If you make a movie that’s a hit and has a celebrity attached to it, it focuses public opinion on your story and you get to use [the film] as a platform for additional funding.”

Perhaps the most successful and most prominent filmanthropist is Jeff Skoll, one of eBay’s early employees, whose Participant Productions supported Syriana and An Inconvenient Truth.

Monday April 28, 2008 | Permalink

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