Thomas Pack has documentary filmmaking in his blood.
Pack's father, Michael Pack, directed the 2020 film “Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words,” in addition to titles for PBS affiliates across the country. Thomas' mother, Gina Cappo Pack, is involved in film development and promotion and is president of Manifold Productions.
“This is a program for untold stories and open-minded filmmakers who seek truth over message, raw American stories over agenda.”
Not all aspiring filmmakers are so fortunate. That's why Thomas Pack is overseeing a program that teaches the next generation of center-right filmmakers the tools of the trade.
And if the stories that come out of it go against Hollywood's collective think, all the better.
Building an ecosystem
As director of Palladium Pictures incubator programPuck supports the development of young storytellers in the art of documentary film. The program funds projects and assists with distribution and promotion.
“Art influences the larger cultural conversation,” Pack says. “We felt there was this gap and there was a cultural shift happening in America…There was space for new media and new great filmmaking, and someone needed to train filmmakers. There is.”
That's usually the job of film schools, but these programs often develop left-leaning artists.
“There's a vast ecosystem on the left,” Pack said. “Left-leaning foundations fund major film festivals, fund early-stage filmmakers, and fund the channels through which their work is distributed…Film schools across the country I accept orthodoxy.”
“The right needs to build something similar,” he says.
The timing couldn't be better, given recent election results and the rise of new media platforms.
“The documentary is just part of the picture here. It's the important part and it's the part we know about,” he said.
of Film Institute He said this may be the closest program to Puck's incubator initiative, but with a narrative feature that promotes freedom and open markets.
The combined group represents a drop in the proverbial bucket.
From “fast break” to “frozen embryos”
“If you look at the total amount spent on the right side… it's really small when you include the entire film production,” he says.
The incubator's first “graduates” told stories not heard in the mainstream film world.
“The Secret Game: A Quick Walk to Freedom” tells the story of two North Carolina college basketball teams during the Jim Crow era who play an illegal interracial game at great risk to themselves and their communities. It depicts what it looks like.
“Spares: Second Chance Stories of Frozen Embryos” visits four couples who have put their fertilized embryos up for adoption, highlighting the moral complexities involved in IVF treatment.
“The Birds and the Bees: Satire, Social Media, and Censorship” tells the surprising story behind the Babylon Bee. The Christian satire site has been at war with news organizations and social media giants for years, but Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter has changed the free speech landscape.
“High Country Murder” follows an unsolved murder and how it uncovers an uncomfortable truth about drug cartels along the U.S.-Mexico border.
All four films can be viewed on RealClearPolitics' YouTube channel and Musk's X platform. The incubator program also allows you to submit original short films to film festivals for consideration.
heretical story
Pack explained that the first batch of incubator members come from a variety of backgrounds, each with their own unique style.
Keeley Brazil Covelo, co-director of “High Country Murder,” says “unorthodox storytelling” rarely generates support in the traditional film world. The self-taught filmmaker comes from a rural background and appreciated that Puck's team encouraged the story from that perspective.
“I think any creative person would agree that it can be difficult to find a trusted mentor, especially if you come in as an outsider or bring a different perspective or unique vision,” Covello said. say.
The show encouraged her to appear on camera with her sister and co-director Micaela Brazil Gillies, given her ties to the community in question. At first I wasn't sure about the decision, but I've come to trust the program's intentions.
“Creating a documentary is hard work. Michael Pack once said, 'If you can make a documentary, you can do anything.' But this program gave us a little bit of a safety net for the first time. In fact, that's how I've always worked because I had a support system to help me make creative decisions on the fly, and I was workshopping in groups rather than just by myself. ”
A vivid American story
Covello is warming up.
“I'm also a writer and a journalist, and I plan on continuing to do that, but I'm pretty into film at the moment. Palladium showed me possibilities,” she says.
Despite the show's openly center-right leanings, both Pack and Covello insist that the documentary is neither one-sided nor actively partisan.
“The Palladium encourages you to take a fair-minded journalistic approach, as all documentarians should,” she says. “This is a program for untold stories and open-minded filmmakers who seek truth over message, raw American stories over agenda.”
Pack says movies and entertainment have “the most direct and immediate impact on culture” and that too many stories slip through the cracks.
“By conservative movies, I mean topics that are more interesting to conservatives or that are ignored by mainstream media,” he says. “In our view, there are a lot of mainstream conservative topics that don't get the recognition they deserve.”
