After nearly a year of preparation, this week we co-hosted the Midwest’s first-ever Good Pitch event, in partnership with BRITDOC and the Sundance Institute.

 

We couldn’t be happier with the outpouring of love and generosity for the seven filmmaker teams that participated. According to the Good Pitch vets in the house, Chicago is one of the most generous groups they’ve seen to date — from $15,000 foundation grants to the filmmakers who pledged their Christmas money to their peers. The room was, simply put, electric.

 

At the day-long event, Kindling Group’s own Sister shared the stage with six other films. Director Rebecca Parrish and Producer Nicole Bernardi-Reis pitched their film about progressive nuns fighting the church establishment to a large crowd of potential funders and broadcasters. They had some help from one of the nuns featured in their film, the feisty Sister Jean, who got some laughs when she said: “It’s funny to see yourself in a movie when you’ve gone 75 years and nobody’s paid any attention to you!”

 

 

 

Every pitch brought something different to the table — and the attendees were particularly excited to see so many Chicago-based films, including Kartemquin’s Homestretch and The Dreamcatchers, about a South Side NGO helping sex workers get off the streets. Chaz Ebert declared: "I'm going to get kicked off my board for pledging to so many films today!"

 

Kindling’s Executive Director Danny Alpert served on the Good Pitch board along with reps from Kartemquin Films, Tribeca Flashpoint Academy, Cohen Law Group and more. You can read about the other docs on Good Pitch’s website or check out mentions in the Chicago Tribune and The Chicago Reader! And you can see more photos from the day in our album on Flickr.

 

 

 

All in all, it was a red letter day for documentary film in Chicago. Great storytelling and a generous audience make a potent combination. Here’s to hoping Good Pitch returns to the Windy City next year!