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Fernando Solanas
We realized that the important thing was not the film itself but that which the film provoked.
OUR MISSION
We engage and empower the public through investigative documentary film and media education programs to spark action, improve lives and protect our democracy. We focus on important stories that are often overlooked or misrepresented by the media. Free Voice Media is a home for independent filmmakers who use investigative documentary as a vehicle to deepen our understanding of society through everyday human drama. Free Voice Media is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization.
We do not accept donations from government entities, political parties, elected officials or candidates actively seeking public office, nor do we accept donations from sources who our board of directors deem could present a conflict of interest with our work or compromise our editorial independence.
FREQUENT CALLER
Feature Investigative Documentary
Frequent Caller is an in-depth look at community paramedics and high-utilizers in Santa Fe to better understand our healthcare system and how we can more effectively help people living with mental illness, addiction, and homelessness.
VOICES OF GLEN CANYON
Oral History Documentary Series
Perhaps never in history has a canyon meant such different things to different people. Voices of Glen Canyon is a series of video interviews with important figures in Glen Canyon's past and present. This long-term, continuous project, was created to serve as part of canyon country's recorded oral history.
CURRENT PRODUCTIONS
"Traditional EMS owes it's national evolution to the TV show Emergency, with Johnny and Roy. They inspired many to become paramedics. I suspect the quality of this production, including its focus on Faith and her compassion for her patients, could be equally inspirational to a whole new generation of MIH-CPs. I can only hope the distribution plans for the film take it far and wide."
-Dan Swayze DrPH, MBA, MEMS
COMPLETED FILMS
THE DURFEES
Feature Investigative Documentary
An in-depth look at the national land transfer movement using the Durfee Hills as a case study.
LIVE ROUND ONE
Short Form Documentary
The raw and visceral feeling of the last days at Standing Rock.
PROGRAMS
FVM LABS
FVM Labs is a free monthly service in which Montana filmmakers present works in progress to the Free Voice Media community in return for constructive critique. The goal of the program is to foster local filmmaking talent and promote the art of filmmaking within Montana communities. The service is open to students, professionals, and enthusiasts.
Filmmaking Fellowship
We invite local artists to utilize FVM resources in creating and premiering new, experimental, documentary, and personal work over a two-month period. Fellows also engage with the greater FVM community via screenings, workshops and other events.
THE FREE VOICE TEAM
GREG CAIRNS
Director and Board Member
Greg is a documentary filmmaker and commercial director with roots in Chicago. His films have screened at festivals including 5Point Film Festival, Durango Independent Film Festival, Kendal Mountain Festival, Covellite Film Festival, and Action On Film. In 2017 his film Out There won Best Short Doc at Durango Independent Film Festival. He first envisioned Free Voice Media while making the long drive home from Standing Rock.
ELLIOTT WOODS
Board Member
Elliott's journalism exploits have taken him from the battlefields of the Middle East to the frozen islands of the Russian Arctic. His work has received top honors from the American Society of Magazine Editors and has been featured in the Best American Travel Writing. In 2017, Elliott's “The Fight for Chinko” has won the Overseas Press Club of America's Whitman Bassow Award, for the best reporting in any medium on international environmental issues.
JONNA MCKONE
Board Member
Jonna is an award-winning artist, documentarian, journalist and researcher based in Brooklyn and Baltimore. She is currently a Lewis Hine fellow, working on a film in Maryland's Dorchester County, and co-producing a feature documentary. Jonna is a graduate of Bowdoin College and holds an MFA from Duke University.
WILLY OPPENHEIM
Board Member
Willy Oppenheim is an educator, a researcher, and the Executive Director of Omprakash. He holds a B.S. in Religion, education, and anthropology from Bowdoin College. In 2009, he received a Rhodes Scholarship and went on to earn his doctorate in Education from Oxford University. His PhD research focused on demand for girls' schooling in rural Pakistan. He currently teaches at the University of Washington.
JESSICA ADAMS
Board Member
Jessica holds a B.S. in Secondary Education with a focus in Social Studies and an M.A. in Education for Teacher Leadership from Fort Lewis College. She also sits on the Board of Directors for the nonprofit Know Your Dough.
FAQS
HOW ARE DOCUMENTARY TOPICS CHOSEN?
As a Nonprofit, our stories aren't decided by clients or sponsors. Members of our Board of Directors present story ideas to the board. The board then votes on which story to turn into a film.
HOW IS FREE VOICE DIFFERENT?
We're an independent and structurally transparent media organization. Free Voice is also uniquely skilled at low budget filmmaking in harsh conditions. Our board and staff are made of journalists, wilderness first responders, social workers, combat veterans, and backcountry guides. To us, the term "on location" doesn't mean a hotel room.
WHAT ARE DONATIONS USED FOR?
Donations go directly to funding our films. This includes travel costs and other production expenses.
CONTACT FVM
Public Editing Bay
Free Voice Media is proud to provide Montana residents a public editing bay. Anyone interested in use the bay should apply for FVM membership status. Once approved, members can access and use the editing bay during normal office hours.
