Participation Reward
“I founded Participant with the mission of creating world-class content that inspires positive social change, prioritizing impact alongside commercial sustainability. Since then, the entertainment industry has seen revolutionary changes in how content is created, distributed and consumed.”
- Jeffrey Skoll, Founder, Participant
I was fortunate to work at Participant for Jeff Skoll for two years. I’ve never met anyone who cares what happens to our world more than Jeff. Excellence and mission were truly the foundations of his Participant culture.
“Participant co-produced or co-financed notable movies including best picture Oscar winners “Spotlight” and “Green Book,” as well as Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” and the breakthrough documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.”
Participant’s twenty year track record included producing movies and shows that earned strong reviews and won 21 Academy Awards out of 86 nominations, and 18 Emmy nods across five television series. Its titles grossed more than $3.3 billion at the worldwide box office.”
https://lnkd.in/ebK_8kxs
A huge share of the legend of Participant belongs to Diane Weyermann, one of the most important artist/executives in documentary history.
https://lnkd.in/eAzkwFWa
I will always remember the mini revolution of Pivot with my fellow insurgents. It was a special place to work.
it’s unsurprising that a small, entirely independently financed, mission driven studio could not find a sustainable model in this time of media chaos - HUGE media companies are in the same exact spot. Still, I can’t help but mourn the loss.
All of the team at Participant was focused on creating great art in service of the people who saw it.
There is definitely a market for what Participant made. What Diane created. What Jeff produced. What independent and documentary filmmakers do.
That team is now out of work. The streamers have pulled their plugs on the kinds of the films those artists make.
The market for this kind of art lives outside the Hollywood where Jeff founded Participant two decades ago - which still runs Hollywood today.
The new market will be built around the community who most care about that art and those artists.
See: Angel Studios
Jeff’s vision was realized. His work at Participant set a standard of excellence in Hollywood. It generated actual change. It will have a lasting impact. Everyone who ever participated in that work should be incredibly proud.
IF we want the kind of art Participant championed, then WE - as creators and audiences - will need to make it happen. The times they have a changed.
Visionary art must be ahead of that change.