The Honor Code
A partnership between GE and Cinelan, GE Focus Forward is an award-winning series of 30, three-minute stories about innovators — people who are reshaping the world through act or invention — directed by the world's most celebrated documentary filmmakers. The films have been viewed in 150 countries and screened to audiences on all seven continents. Big Mouth Productions contributed to the series with The Honor Code.
Katy Chevigny, Director
Marilyn Ness, Producer
Welcome to Schechter Manhattan
Welcome to a school where curiosity rules. Where children learn to honor timeless traditions and think for themselves. Where they're encouraged to ask bold questions, confront paradox and discover new connections. Where critical inquiry feels like fun, and lights go on in unexpected ways. Solomon Schechter School of Manhattan commissioned Big Mouth Productions to producer this video for students, parents, alumni and supporters.
Marilyn Ness, Producer and Director
SAABA
Co-produced with Meridian Hill Pictures, SAABA is six-part digital docu-series that explores a community-based attempt to fight violence in Burkina Faso in the Sahel region of West Africa. Each episode profiles a community member in the small town of SAABA.
Brandon Kramer, Director
Katy Chevigny, Executive Producer
Macbeth iBook
When we read a Shakespeare play, we find it hard to understand — the language is old, and the text is really a performance script for actors, not a text for readers. With the WordPlay (™) Shakespeare series, students can read Shakespeare's text and watch a performance of the play "in the page," right next to the text. Filmed with professional Shakespearean actors on a specially designed set, Shakespeare's language is easier to understand, and the characters truly come to life. The tool is a fun, modern way to read and understand Shakespeare.
Marilyn Ness, Coordinating Producer
pgEd: Join The Conversation
What can an analysis of your DNA reveal about you, your family history, and your health? What might easy access to information about your genes mean for you and for society as a whole? The Personal Genetics Education Project (pgEd) aims to get people talking about the potential benefits and implications of the fast-approaching world of personal genetics. Big Mouth Productions produced this series of videos for the initiative.
Marilyn Ness, Producer and Director
The R.O.M.E.O.s
The ROMEOs is a short documentary film about long relationships — good conversation amongst old friends. And were talking old friends. ROMEO is an acronym for Retired Old Men Eating Out and features an informal club of 5 old time New Yorkers, men aged 72 to 87, who have met every week for the past 20 years at the Metro Diner in New York City. It is a long lunch to talk about anything and everything; telling old jokes, making fun of each other, complaining about politics. They are retired lawyers, writers and left-wing troublemakers and they are utterly hilarious without even trying. This is what the conversation would be like if the guys from Diner hung out 50 years after the movie.
Katy Chevigny, Producer and Director
Setting The Stage
SETTING THE STAGE takes an inside look at the programs of the Kaufman Center and the building that houses them. Following a musically gifted seventh grader, the premiere fiddler in the U.S., and an amateur jazz player, the story of this remarkable organization is told by the people benefiting from it day to day. Marilyn Ness was hired to create this short video about this New York City musical arts institution.
Marilyn Ness, Producer and Director
Lift
Lift was launched in 1996 when three lawyers had the simple but revolutionary idea of establishing “go-to” locations in New York City’s Family Courts that would provide on-the-spot help and legal information for vulnerable families struggling to make their way through the complex Court system. Before LIFT, there was no source of information or guidance available, and families were left to fend for themselves in a confusing and intimidating Court system. Big Mouth Productions created this video to help share LIFT's work and mission with the greater public.
Doc Day Sundance Channel
Big Mouth Productions created two promotional spots for the Sundance Channel's Doc Day.
Katy Chevigny, Producer
GLSEN PSA
In 1990, a small, but dedicated group of teachers in Massachusetts came together to improve an education system that frequently allowed its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students to be bullied, discriminated against and/or fall through the cracks. Almost 25 years later, that small group has grown into the leading national education organization focused on ensuring safe schools for all students. Today, they’re known as GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network. This is a public service announcement Big Mouth Productions created for the organization's Safe Space project.
Katy Chevigny, Producer and Director
Alvin Ailey Video
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater grew from a now-fabled performance in March 1958 at the 92nd Street Y in New York City. Led by Alvin Ailey and a group of young African-American modern dancers, that performance changed forever the perception of American dance. The Ailey company has gone on to perform for an estimated 25 million people at theaters in 48 states and 71 countries on six continents — as well as millions more through television broadcasts. Big Mouth Productions helped produce a feature-length documentary about the historic organization.
National Institute of Mental Health
Both men and women get depression. But men can experience it differently than women. Men may be more likely to feel very tired and irritable, and lose interest in their work, family, or hobbies. Many men do not recognize, acknowledge, or seek help for their depression. They may be reluctant to talk about how they are feeling. But depression is a real and treatable illness. It can affect any man at any age. To help ease the stigma, the National Institute of Mental Health commissioned a series of short videos to address the issue. This is the one produced by Big Mouth Productions.
Opportunity Agenda
The Opportunity Agenda launched in 2006 with the mission of building the national will to expand opportunity in America. Focused on moving hearts, minds, and policy over time, the organization works with social justice groups, leaders, and movements to advance solutions that expand opportunity for everyone. Big Mouth Productions created this video for Opportunity Agenda to promote the great work it does.
Close the Gap Campaign
n 2013, the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) celebrated 50 years of providing global leadership to improve and sustain care for people with inherited bleeding disorders, including hemophilia, von Willebrand disease, rare factor deficiencies, and inherited platelet disorders. To celebrate the milestone, the organization commissioned a series of short videos from Big Mouth Productions, entitled Close the Gap Campaign. The content highlights key moments, programs, and people in the WFH's 50-year history.
Marilyn Ness, Producer and Director