The IFP is announcing today Envision, a two-day forum jointly produced by the IFP and the U.N. in which film and both live and virtual discussion will be used to address significant global issues. There will be 12 screenings, presentations and panel discussions, according to the press release, “rooted in the UN’s Millennium Development Goals.” The release goes on to say, “In our debut year, there will be a special focus on the MDG’s impact on women. The UN’s Millennium Development Goals are to: eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; achieve universal primary education; promote gender equality and empower women; reduce child mortality; improve maternal health’ combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; ensure environmental sustainability; and develop a global partnership for development.”

A website for Envision has just launched where you can see some of the trailers, register for a pass, or view the schedule of events.

Among the participants will be Gayle Ferraro, director of To Catch a Dollar: Muhammad Yunus Banks on America (working title), who recently blogged for this site from the Skoll World Forum. In a program moderated by Dan Cogan of Impact Partners, she and two women involved with the Grameen Bank in Queens (Grameen American Center Manager Alethia Mendez and a borrower, Patricia) will discuss the complexities of being a subject in a socially conscious doc.

From the description:

Documentary filmmakers must become adept at bearing witness to events as they unfold, without influencing outcomes or forever disrupting the lives of individuals who aren’t seeking the limelight. The presence of a camera thrust into any of our lives could at best make us self-conscious, at worst, negatively and permanently expose our lives to unwarranted scrutiny and judgment. There is a delicate balance of trust that must exist between documenter and subject. How does an NGO find a voice for a issue or a situation that will meet the needs of a filmmaker to tell a compelling story that will be typically 60 – 90 minutes and likely seen on television worldwide or the internet? Understanding the dynamic complexities and length of this relationship are what make the difference between a public service announcement and a film anchoring an outreach campaign.

Films to be screened include Rough Aunties, Pray the Devil Back to Hell, and The Glass House, and there will be a performance by UNICEF spokesperson Sarah Jones.

Says IFP Executive Director Michelle Byrd in the release, “As I hope you can tell from the design of the program, our target audience for the forum is the international filmmaking community, civil society organizations, entrepreneurs, activists, journalists, economists, funders, public policy makers, NGOs, the general public and representatives from the UN’s family of organizations.”

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