Stories of those we serve

New Media Right is proud to have worked on FROM HERE, a documentary film by Christina Antonakos-Wallace that follows four young people who represent the future of global citizenry. Filmed over the better part of a decade in two of the world’s largest immigration countries–the U.S. and Germany–FROM HERE captures an international generation’s fight for belonging in an era of rising nationalism. 

Set in Berlin and New York, FROM HERE interweaves the stories of Tania, Miman, Sonny and Akim – artists and activists raised in the Global North to parents from the Global South. The film accompanies them as they move from their 20’s into their 30’s, facing major turning points: fighting for citizenship, creating a family, surviving violence, and finding creative expression. Beautifully shot over the course of ten years, the film captures their struggle to define belonging for themselves in societies increasingly hostile to their existence.

New Media Rights' team worked on Harleen Singh’s  film, Drawn Together.  With a lively backdrop of superheroes, comic books, and animated comics, Drawn Together: Comics, Diversity and Stereotypes brings together three talented artists—a Sikh, a woman, and an African American—who are challenging the racial, gender, and religious stereotyping currently endemic in America through their work.

This documentary has been selected in over 51 International film festivals and is the winner of 9 major awards including "BEST Documentary", "Freedom Award" and "Jason D Mak award for Social Justice".

Device is a monthly book discussion with a science-based twist, hosted by creator Emily Griffiths. The podcast focuses on how authors often rely on scientific phenomena as plot devices, altering what’s scientifically possible to create an engaging plot line, which can often result in great storytelling, but the science can be exaggerated or lost in the process. Currently distributed by KPBS as part of its Explore Local Content Project, Device talks to local scientists in San Diego and throughout California to talk what’s real, and what’s science fiction.

Once a program like Device is up and running, creators will often reach out to various distributors to share their content on broader platforms and with audiences throughout the world. There are legal needs at all stages of producing content like a podcast, and New Media Rights was glad to be able to provide services to Emily to help interpret and understand her distribution agreement with KPBS.

San Diego’s Gay Bar History is a documentary by Filmmaker Paul Detwiler that traces the development of the gay bar as a community institution in San Diego. The documentary examines the role gay bars have played in community gathering and organizing during four time periods: before the birth of the modern gay rights movement, during the 1970’s, during the AIDS epidemic (1981-1990’s), all the way through their role in the present day. 

Documentaries often need a variety of legal services, from hiring a crew, to copyright, fair use and licensing, to distribution agreements. New Media Rights works with a variety of documentary and fictional video creators to overcome the legal hurdles to making their productions a reality. Read on to see to see the story of how New Media Rights helped this filmmaker.