Ruptly Backs New Project from Virtual Collective of 250-Plus Filmmakers

A virtual collective of over 250 filmmakers, led by Muse Storytelling, has released a collaborative film designed to spread hope during the current coronavirus pandemic with the support of donated archive footage from Ruptly and its global distribution platform.

The film, set to the words of Brother Richard Hendrick’s poem “Lockdown,” shines a light on the stories of hope, unity and resilience that a virtual community ranging from the Philippines to Kenya, Italy and El Salvador were moved to share amid these challenging times.

Ruptly contributed news and archive footage to set the scene. Global submissions were edited together at Muse Storytelling’s Oregon headquarters, with the end result of a four-minute film, and a viral movement, #ChooseHopeStory, inviting the rest of the world to add their voices.

The full video is available online and to broadcasters and digital publishers via Ruptly’s distribution platform.

Dinara Toktosunova, CEO of Ruptly, said of the project: “We’re proud to have collaborated in an initiative that’s helping spread light in these seemingly dark times. Celebrating the power of film to unite and inform, this project shows the value of bringing together honest human stories to unify a global audience. This is just the tonic that the industry, and the wider world, needs.”

Patrick Moreau, Founder of Muse Storytelling, added: “We became storytellers so that we could connect people, create an impact. We were feeling helpless so we decided to take action, bring together our global community of storytellers and create something that would help people connect.”