Community
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Meaningful Movies – Community Reinvestment Project Spotlight
Meaningful Movies is one 30 By/For Black, Latine, and Indigenous Kin organizations in Pierce County recommended by the Pierce County Local Advisory Team to receive funding through the Washington State Department of Commerce’s Community Reinvestment Project.
GTCF contracted with Commerce to convene the Pierce County Local Advisory Team and deliver funding based on their recommendations. You can read more about this partnership here.
GTCF reached out to Meaningful Movies to learn more about their organization and how this Community Reinvestment Project funding is helping accelerate their work in Pierce County.
What inspired the creation of your organization/movement?
Meaningful Movies started in 2003 as a project of Wallingford Neighbors for Peace and Justice in Seattle. Every week, volunteers organized free social justice films followed by facilitated conversation.
Nine years later, Rick Turner founded the Meaningful Movies Project, a nonprofit organization to help others establish Meaningful Movies venues in their own communities. Under Rick’s leadership of the Meaningful Movies Project, 29 more venues were started by volunteers in their neighborhoods. Rick died in 2016 but left behind a lasting legacy.
Rick’s work continues today with manager Melinda Raebyne, a Tacoma-based, award-winning filmmaker with ties to the film industry and a passion for social justice that have helped her further MMP’s mission. Under her leadership, we have a thriving high school group and internship program. We also have forged relationships with various film festivals, including the Tacoma Film Festival and the Seattle Latino Film Festival. Melinda hopes to build on our success of diversifying audiences and building partnerships within the area, while also showcasing new filmmakers from underrepresented demographics and collaborating with venues throughout the Northwest and beyond.
What is a challenge – or opportunity – your organization/movement is addressing or trying to create solutions for?
In 2024, our member groups screened 58 free social justice documentary films, and we hosted three all-network screenings. As always, our films are followed by a discussion with experts and audience members to continue exploring meaningful issues. These events are at the heart of our mission at MMP, connecting our members with relevant movies that help all of us make sense of the world we live in today. This, in turn, creates a community of compassion, and encourages more peace in the world.
At a time when corporations have consolidated their media holdings, newspapers are closing and the number of investigative reporters has been cut drastically, MMP provides spaces where people can be informed by independent, alternative media and join with community members to think deeply about social justice issues. As always, MMP screenings are free to all. That means no one is ever turned away from participating because of financial hardship.
Now more than ever, neighbors and strangers need to participate in discussions to help bridge the deep social and political divides in our country. Now more than ever, our groups are doing important work to help educate audiences and make our world better.
What is an example of the actions, programs, or projects of your organization/movement?
Audience members not only learn at our events, many of them also are inspired to get involved addressing the local and global issues presented in the films we screen. MMP has partnered with organizations including The Pierce County Tacoma Black Collective, Fix Democracy First, Seattle International Film Festival, Social Justice Film Festival, Shoreline Community College and others.
To name just a few success stories: After watching a movie about homelessness, high school students in Ridgefield, Wash., were empowered to host a “trendy clothing drive” for teens experiencing homelessness. The city council of Gig Harbor passed an ordinance banning the use of single-use plastic straws and bags, after watching a movie about plastic pollution.
We are intentional about the films and speakers we choose to highlight and take care to cover a diverse range of issues, including institutional racism, global warming and LGBTQ+ topics. We offer a safe space for audiences to ask questions without judgment, understanding that we all bring unique perspectives to the conversation. What’s more, our high school groups are helping usher in the newest generation of activists, people who will be fighting for justice in years ahead.
Simply put: MMP members make an impact on the world because they’re educated about the issues that affect us–and are empowered to do something about it. And taking action for justice and peace leaves all of humanity better off.
How can funding – like what was delivered through the Community Reinvestment Project – help accelerate the work of Meaningful Movies?
In the past, the Meaningful Movies Project has relied heavily on patron donations to cover the expenses of organizing and hosting screening events. Financial support helps to alleviate the stress of having to secure funds, and allows us to focus on building relationships in communities through film.
Some other areas we are able to focus on because of the Community Reinvestment Project fund include:
- Revamping our website
- Updating our marketing materials
- Expanding our reach and building connections in Africa with our first online international screening of Summer of Soul, in celebration of Juneteenth.