In late 2019, Participant, the company behind such pivotal films as An Inconvenient Truth, Spotlight, and Roma was preparing to celebrate its 15-year anniversary with an retrospective at MoMA. But then the COVID-19 pandemic halted those plans.
Now, almost two years later, the series “Participant at MoMA: Film and Activism” will launch on October 13, just as the awards campaign for the company’s latest and incredibly timely film, Flee, gets underway. The celebration of the company’s work that will feature screenings of 15 of its films, including An Inconvenient Truth (2006), Contagion (2011), Middle of Nowhere (2012), Citizenfour (2014), The Look of Silence (2015), Spotlight (2015), A Fantastic Woman (2018), Roma (2018), American Factory (2019), and Collective (2020).
Participant, which was founded in 2004 by Jeff Skoll, focuses on creating projects that inspire positive social change. The company has produced more than 100 films, and landed 82 Oscar nominations, with best picture wins for Green Book and Spotlight.
“We are dedicated to Jeff’s goals, beliefs that storytelling provides a means to be entertained and enjoy wonderful stories, but also take that experience and really try to make a difference in the world,” Participant CEO David Linde tells Vanity Fair. “As a company, we often say that artists can see around the corner on the most important issues of the day.”
The opening night screening will be of Flee, an animated documentary that premiered at Sundance earlier this year. Directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen, the critically acclaimed film centers on an Afghan refugee grappling with a secret he’s kept for 20 years.
“Even when we programmed Flee, we didn’t know exactly what was going to happen there, that Kabul was going to fall. I think bringing light to this experience couldn’t be more contemporary and more important for people to experience,” says Linde. The special screening of Flee will be followed by an opening night reception.
The MoMA series will also feature speakers that participate in panel discussions tied to the screenings. Among them are former vice president Al Gore, who will join a young climate activist to speak about An Inconvenient Truth; Contagion actor Jennifer Ehle and writer Scott Z. Burns in conversation with infectious disease expert Dr. W. Ian Lipkin; and Riz Ahmed, an executive producer of Flee.
“I lived in New York for 25 years and we are a company of committed people who believe in the power of art,” says Linde. “And it’s MoMA—it is one of the most important cultural institutions in this country. And to be recognized in such a thorough and thoughtful way for everybody at the company is really exciting. We’re really thankful to have this opportunity.”
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