Hoping to harness the power of viral videos outside of elections, Brave New Films is up today with the first of a series of documentaries raising awareness about the foreclosure crisis by homing in on some of the hardest hit cities.
Working in coalition with ACORN -- which is conducting a nationwide push for a moratorium on foreclosures -- the progressive-leaning film company is also including personal-story web videos in its program: "Fighting For Our Homes."
Brave New Films, which did some of the sharpest political filmmaking during the '08 race, is staring off the series by documenting the housing crisis in the San Fernando Valley. An official with the group said videos will follow based in other California locales. The group, the official added, is partnering with ACORN, which is providing personal stories for filming and will be also be conducting a homesteading campaign that Brave New Films will document.
One of the enduring lessons of the 2008 campaign is that political videos, once viral, could turn into dominating narratives. Think of Reverend Jeremiah Wright's sermons or Hillary Clinton walking gingerly through Bosnian airfields. It will be telling to see if issue-oriented shorts can get the same type of traction when the political climate is a little bit cooler.