“Story is important because it connects humanity. We listen, learn and grow from storytelling.” —Barbara Ponce, American Honda Motor Co., Inc.

In an ever-changing and crowded marketplace, story is the one unique element brands and organizations can use to differentiate themselves.

By telling compelling stories through film, companies like Hitachi, the Ritz-Carlton, and Honda are able to engage consumers and communicate with them in a more personal and powerful way.

Join the Jacksonville American Marketing Association (JAMA), for The Power of Story, a special half-day event focusing on why story is so critical.

Tuesday, July 12, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Jacksonville Main Library Conference Center

303 N. Laura Street, Dowtwon

Speakers include Barbara A. Ponce, Manager of Corporate and Diversity Advertising, American Honda Motor Co., Inc., who led the production of the automaker’s “Dream the Impossible” documentary series; Producer and Filmmaker Natalie Halpern of Natalie Halpern Productions; and Certified Business Coach and Character Counts! in Jacksonville Executive Director Florence Haridan.

Click here for more information and to get tickets.

“Just Do It” “Got Milk?” We all remember these tag lines and the brilliant campaigns they were part of.

Directed by Doug Pray, the documentary “Art & Copy,” captures the stories of the creative minds behind these campaigns. People like George Lois, Mary Wells, Dan Wieden and others who profoundly impacted pop culture and revolutionized advertising.

AIGA and AAF Jacksonville present a one-time screening of this film which, as Pray says, “is about the innate human urge to express oneself creatively.”

I’m so excited to see this film and learn about what inspired some of the industry’s greatest creative minds.

Tuesday, March 30th. 6:30 pm
Five Points Theatre
Tickets: $5 AIGA/AAF members. $5 students. $10 non-members
Portion of ticket sale proceeds will benefit Feeding America

For more information visit the film’s official website.

So Collapse is apparently an independent film directed by Chris Smith with dire prognostications from a seemingly reliable source. Remember the premise of Mad Max? We run out of oil and the world goes to hell pretty quick. Well, I don’t want to spoil anything for you, but the main and only character in this documentary seems to think we are rapidly approaching or perhaps have even surpassed Peak Oil.

In the wake of two notable faux-documentary films this summer it is hard to know if what you are watching is actual footage and what is more clever fabricated story telling. this guy seems legit enough, has the credentials to back it all up and basically lays out a convincing enough story you might find yourself tilling your backyard for your own apocalypse garden.

So where catch a glimpse of the prophesy? Basically you are out of luck unless you have Comcast OnDemand. I have been tweeting at this guy for some kind of clue as to how to get this shown in Jacksonville, but I haven’t had too much luck. Perhaps if there was more interest we could get this here… before it’s too late.

You can catch this powerful documentary at the 5 Points Theatre October 18th-22nd. In addition to the film, we are planning a question and answer session with the one of the film makers. Stay tuned for further details.

Crude is three years in the making, this feature from acclaimed filmmaker Joe Berlinger (Brother’s Keeper, Paradise Lost, Metallica: Some Kind of Monster) is the epic story of one of the largest and most controversial environmental lawsuits on the planet.

The inside story of the infamous “Amazon Chernobyl” case, Crude is a real-life high stakes legal drama, set against a backdrop of the environmental movement, global politics, celebrity activism, human rights advocacy, the media, multinational corporate power, and rapidly-disappearing indigenous cultures.

Presenting a complex situation from multiple viewpoints, the film subverts the conventions of advocacy filmmaking, exploring a complicated situation from all angles while bringing an important story of environmental peril and human suffering into focus.