Participant Media Hosts a Special Day Long Event at SXSW 2014

Directors Diego Luna and Margaret Brown, TakePart Live Host Jacob Soboroff, Delegates from The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Tumblr, NPR, Google Crisis Response and More Explore Impact of Technology on Social Good; Special Performance by Freestyle Love Supreme

Participant Joins Festival with Four Films – One World Premiere, One North American Premiere; Six Panels – 25 Speakers Marking Ten Years of Entertainment

AUSTIN (Friday, March 6, 2014) – Offering an unprecedented opportunity to explore the powerful intersection of technology, storytelling, and social action, Participant Media, the award winning global entertainment company known for films such as Lincoln, An Inconvenient Truth and Food, Inc., has created a day-long event at SXSW 2014 spotlighting media and social good entitled Engage, Inspire, Ignite: Conversations About Unleashing Social Good.

The six-part panel series event, which is part of the company’s year long 10th anniversary celebration, is hosted by Participant, its digital platform, TakePart.com, and recently launched TV network Pivot, and its agency group TAG, as part of SXSW Social Good Hub official panel programming. The event will take place on Monday, March 10 from 9:30AM-8:00PM (Central Time) at Wanderlust Studios, 206 E. 4th Street in Austin.

“With its confluence of storytellers, innovators, activists, and techies, SXSW is the perfect location for a day of insightful conversations about how organizations and brands are using every possible media platform to empower people to make a positive impact on the world,” said Jim Berk, CEO of Participant Media.

Participant Media has a significant presence at SXSW this year with four films including highly anticipated premiers of CESAR CHAVEZ and THE GREAT INVISIBLE and screenings of THE INTERNET’S OWN BOY, and TEACH, in addition to the day long curated discussion examining social action and featuring 25 influential panelists from media, entertainment, social action, and technology.

Among the participants at the day-long panel event will be directors Diego Luna (CESAR CHAVEZ) and Margaret Brown (THE GREAT INVISIBLE), whose films for Participant Media are premiering at SXSW 2014; Jacob Soboroff, co-host of Pivot’s TakePart Live, representatives from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Intel for Change, World Food Program USA, Tumblr, Zynga.org and Google.org, among many others.

Attendees will hear from top talent and thought leaders on a range of topics from social innovation, storytelling for change, “clicktivism,” technology for social good, and digital engagement for the conscious consumer. They will also be able to take part in social actions in the “Impact Café,” cure their hunger and thirst courtesy of Whole Foods Market with its new Pivot TV series Dark Rye, and watch exclusive content from critically-acclaimed network Pivot through its new App.

The event, open to all SXSW badge holders, will conclude with a happy hour performance featuring Freestyle Love Supreme. Dubbed the “Masters in the Art of Freestyle Rhyme’ by the New York Times, the much talked about live issue-based improvised show comes from two of the creators of the Tony award-winning musical, In The Heights.

Over the past year, Participant properties have expanded their digital footprint significantly. Participant’s web site TakePart .com, which receives millions of unique monthly visitors (comScore MediaMetrix, January 2014), launched the Take Action Platform (TAP) last May. The platform offers direct connection between visitors to the site and a range of actions they can take on causes like hunger, the environment, education and more. Participant’s Pivot TV network has covered more than 75 different issues and offered more than 500 different actions for viewers to take both through its linear channel and Downloadable Pivot App.

The complete schedule of panels and panelists can be found athttp://www.participantmedia.com/sxsw2014.

About Participant Media
Participant (www.participantmedia.com) is a global entertainment company founded in 2004 by Jeff Skoll to focus on feature film, television, publishing and digital content that inspires social change. Participant’s more than 45 films include GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK, SYRIANA, AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, FOOD, INC., WAITING FOR ‘SUPERMAN’, THE HELP, CONTAGION and LINCOLN. Through its films, social action campaigns, digital network TakePart.com and Pivot, its new television network for Millennials, Participant seeks to entertain, encourage and empower every individual to take action.