Creative impact: With elliot kotek

"Ideas + Empathy = impact"  is the motto for The Nation of Artists.  We sat down with the Founder and CEO of this innovative company, Elliot Kotek, to learn more about how they work with a broad range of parters to leverage the power of story to create change.

 Show Notes:
1.  Love the line from your website "Ideas + Empathy = impact".  It seems like this social impact space continues to expand and you are connecting a lot of dots - storytelling, innovation .  Tell us more about Nation of Artists what sounds like a very unique model
 
2.  With all the new ideas around branded content, can you share a few examples of how  "Brands are using stories" and content to do good in the world?  And how you've worked with them.
 
3.  We did some work together back when you were publishing Moving Pictures.  The "content" universe has certainly changed.  Can you give us an example of how content is integrated into your work...Journalism with Beyond, and AFCI?
 
4.  Back in 2000, we had short films online, as that was all the bandwidth could handle.  iFILM and Atom  bet on convergence, but they were too far ahead of the curve.  Now we have hundreds of streaming platforms, with movies (longform) but a youth culture more interested in shorter form, and new forms of video storytelling.  How do you see short form content exhibition evolving over the next few years.  Content on the go, vs binge watching
 
5.  I see this double edged sword for this expanded interest the in social impact space.  Do you think it will continue to escalate until its just the new normal...or do you think it's just a combo of creative filmmakers, lower barrier to entry and sign of people trying to connect to the world around them in uneasy times?   

Elliot Kotek Bio:
Elliot Kotek is the CEO & founder of The Nation of Artists, founder of Beyond Cinema and co-founded Not Impossible. He believes in the power of content and campaigns to change the world and takes pride in building collaborative teams around ideas that deliver real impact to real people in real need. The producer of groundbreaking projects like 140 and Project Daniel, Don's Voice and Queen Mimi, Elliot directs & produces brand-funded docs and VR for Qualcomm, Intel, HP, Sony, Hyundai, LEGO Education, California Almonds, Aflac, Accenture, Participant Media etc and his docs and docu-series have been shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, the United Nations Foundation and achieved distribution through National Geographic, FastCompany, Upworthy & GOOD magazine, Facebook Watch, Amazon and Netflix.

Lucky to have been honored with some of the big stuff - 2x SxSW Innovation Awards, 3x Cannes Lions (Titanium, Gold & Bronze), 5x Silver Tellys, 3x One Show Pencils, 3 Maggies, 2 AICP Awards, archiving at MoMA, Webby Award honors,NYU/Tisch Craft Award, the 2016 Innovation Fellowship at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, TEDMED Hive selection, Nominet Trust 100 List, he has spoken at the United Nations, US Institute of Peace, US Chamber of Commerce, SxSW, NxNE, Social Innovation Summit, Social Impact Week, Anderson School of Business, Techweek, Philanthropy Summit, DOHA Goals, Global Marathon et al.

A leading mind on purposeful content, technology for good, innovating for humanity, storytelling for social impact, Elliot hosted the 2018 SxSW Innovation Awards & sits on the board of directors of The Giving Back Fund.