Gucci Highlights Power Of Documentary Film At TED Conference With Special Guests Ben Affleck, Abigail Disney, Rory Kennedy And Diego Luna

Through Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund, Gucci Affirms Commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility

Gucci partnered with TED to showcase the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund at TED’s annual conference held in Long Beach and Palm Springs, CA February 3-7, 2009.

“We are so pleased to continue our support for the artists who create interesting, engaging films through the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund,” said Gucci Creative Director Frida Giannini. “Gucci is honored to be a part of TED and to have brought the fund to its community of innovative, inspired thinkers.”

On February 5th in Long Beach, the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund presented a discussion between filmmakers Ben Affleck, Abigail Disney and Rory Kennedy. The conversation focused on the power of documentary film to bring global awareness and understanding to the critical issues of our time.  With an introduction by Robert Polet, Gucci Group President and CEO, the luncheon was attended by such notables as Cameron Diaz, Meg Ryan and Forest Whitaker. Affleck is the producer of Reporter (2009), the story of journalist Nicholas Kristof’s journey as he traveled during the summer of 2007 to the Congo to report on the conflict and poverty paralyzing the African republic in attempt to put the crisis on the International Radar. Reporter premiered at the Sundance Film Festival last month. Kennedy is one of the nation’s most acclaimed and prolific independent filmmakers. She most recently directed the Emmy® Award-winning Ghosts of Abu Ghraib (2007) which looks beyond the headlines to investigate the psychological and political context in which torture at the renowned prison occurred. Disney is the producer of Pray the Devil Back to Hell (2008), the remarkable story of a peaceful coalition of women in Liberia that continues to bring inspiration to women in zones of conflict around the world.

“Abigail, Rory and Ben emphasized how a very specific story can illuminate larger universal struggles. They also touched on the moral implications inherent in documentaries which focus on social conflict,” said Beth Janson, panel moderator and Director of the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund. “This was the beginning of many larger conversations amongst the audience of TED attendees.”

The following evening, February 6th, in Palm Springs, Gucci presented a 20-minute clip of the 2008 Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund selected project Fixer: The Taking of Ajmal Naqshbandi, which provides a behind-the-scenes look into Afghanistan in a story of the kidnapping of an Afghan translator and an Italian journalist. The clip was followed by a short panel discussion with Ian Olds, the film’s director, and Christian Parenti, the journalist featured in the film, and focus on the challenges and moral implications of relying on a local negotiator in a foreign country. The conversation was moderated by Diego Luna, a member of the 2008 Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund Selection Committee and founding member of Documental Ambulante, a Mexican film foundation also supported by Gucci since 2007 via its annual Gucci/Ambulante Grant.

Gucci supports documentary film as an important artistic medium, and as a creative tool that has the ability to draw attention to relevant issues facing our world today. For the second year, the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund provides finishing grants to filmmakers whose work brings to light critical topics of social significance often absent from mainstream media. The fund focuses on documentaries that are driven by thoughtful, accurate and complete storytelling. Seven projects were selected in 2008 from a pool of 450 applicants from 28 countries. 

“Gucci is proud to lead the way as the first luxury fashion brand to participate in TED,” said Daniella Vitale, President of Gucci America. “Our efforts toward supporting visionary filmmakers through the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund and our involvement at TED will allow important work to be seen by the larger, worldwide community.”