We recently connected with Barbara Multer-Wellin and have shared our conversation below.

Barbara, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

I am proud to be part of a group of media professionals joining together to launch a new production company, Fresh Air Clean Water. FACW aims to illuminate, inspire and prove to the world that our environmental crises can be solved. The documentaries and series we produce for multiple platforms will use cutting-edge video and AI technology to create striking graphics and cinematography.  We believe this is a great opportunity to inspire environmentally-conscious Gen Z and Millennial viewers to defeat their paralyzing eco-despair and take meaningful actions.

Barbara, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I have been writing and producing nonfiction media content for four decades for HBO, Showtime, PBS, CBS, HGTV and many more, .Some people have advised me to dye my white hair and conceal my age as much as possible. But I am proud of my years and the depth of my experience. I have no plans to retire and see no need to do so. I love what I do. Today I am one of the founders of a FRESH AIR CLEAN WATER, a new production company devoted to environmental content. Our goal is to educate, inspire and motivate everyone to become active in solving our global environmental crisis. Environmental reporting in all media tends to focus on gloom and doom scenarios that have proved disturbing and even detrimental to viewers. Eco-anxiety has become a mental health concern, particularly for young people. FACW will highlight positive technologies, innovations and policies and inspire individuals to commit to sustainable lifestyle choices and to get involved in green efforts in their local communities and beyond. We are inspired by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication’s five key facts: IT’S REAL, IT’S US, IT’S BAD, SCIENTISTS AGREE… but THERE’S HOPE!

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My professional focus is to empower people to look beyond the misinformation, rumors, and unreliable sources so rampant in media right now. This is especially true in media coverage of the environment. For years, our looming environmental crisis was ignored and denied as a hoax. Now, most of what we hear feels like the death knell for our planet. This widespread eco-despair is so dark and discouraging, many people have just given up. At our new company, FRESH AIR CLEAN WATER, we want to tell stories from around the world that demonstrate there are local and global solutions, if we fight for them. I want to be part of the fight.

I have taught documentary filmmaking at the college level and continue to consult with nonfiction filmmakers to help them launch their projects through my website: www.thedocudiva.com

I have also designed a media literacy curriculum that I have taught to high school students through the Los Angeles Office of Education (LACOE). In these classes it is not necessarily my goal to inspire new documentarians.  My goal is to teach students the critical skills needed to consume media and manage their own social media creation responsibly.

There are harder things than obtaining funding for documentary projects, but it takes enormous dedication and ingenuity to make it happen. The typical time from start to finish for an independent documentary is 5 years. Each time I finish a project I swear to myself that I will never attempt this kind of financing again but then then a new project I believe in and am excited about pulls me right back into the fray. As media content producers, we have unprecedented access to platforms where audiences can view or work. But at the same time, the sheer tonnage of content posted everyday makes it harder and harder for your project to be found. The key, I have learned, is to identify the niche audience that has an inherent interest in your project. rather than assuming the whole world will be interested My last film was about an orchestra founded by and for people living with mental illness; their mission is to challenge the stigmatization of mental illness. We found our niche with activists and providers within the mental health community. And it still took three crowd-funding campaigns and hundreds of grant applications to complete. “Orchestrating Change” was seen across the country on PBS stations through American Public Television and won some awards. To date we have held over 60 private screenings via Zoom or in-person.  

I have been writing and producing nonfiction media content for four decades for HBO, Showtime, PBS, CBS, HGTV and many more. People have advised me to dye my white hair and conceal my age as much as possible. But I am proud of my years and the depth of my experience. I have no plans to retire and see no need to do so. I love what I do.

Today I am one of the founders of a FRESH AIR CLEAN WATER, a new production company devoted to environmental content. Our goal is to educate, inspire and motivate everyone to become active in solving our global environmental crisis. Environmental reporting in all media tends to focus on gloom and doom scenarios that have proved disturbing and even detrimental to viewers. Eco-anxiety has become a mental health concern, particularly for young people. FACW will highlight positive technologies, innovations and policies and inspire individuals to commit to sustainable lifestyle choices and to get involved in green efforts in their local communities and beyond. We are inspired by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication’s five key facts:  IT’S REAL, IT’S US, IT’S BAD, SCIENTISTS AGREE… but THERE’S HOPE!

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

There are harder things than obtaining funding for documentary projects, but it takes enormous dedication and ingenuity to make it happen. The typical time from start to finish for an independent documentary is 5 years. Each time I finish a project I swear to myself that I will never attempt this kind of financing again but then the a new project I believe in and am excited about pulls me right back into the fray. As media content producers, we have unprecedented access to platforms where audiences can view or work. But at the same time, the sheer tonnage of content posted everyday makes it harder and harder for your project to be found. The key, I have learned, is to identify the niche audience that has an inherent interest in your project. rather than assuming the whole world will be interested My last film was about an orchestra founded by and for people living with mental illness; their mission is to challenge the stigmatization of mental illness. We found our niche with activists and providers within the mental health community. And it still took three crowd-funding campaigns and hundreds of grant applications to complete. “Orchestrating Change” was seen across the country on PBS stations through American Public Television and won some awards. To date we have held over 60 private screenings via Zoom or in-person.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thedocudiva.com, www.freshaircleanwater.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbara-multer-wellin-aa672b4/
• Other: www.orchestratingchangethefilm.com

Image Credits
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