When it comes to ethics and the mass media, and in some cases the lack thereof, many examples come to mind. Typically they range from the Jayson Blair and fabricated stories of the print world to the Geraldo Rivera’s and Dan Rather’s of broadcast… But where does film fall in all of this? Film, on a large scale, is not like journalism. Sure, documentaries are a video based form of journalism, but with documentaries and all of film comes the opportunity of the director/producer/writer to tell a story. Many times these stories are encouraged to push the boundaries of what we know and accept as ethical. After all, isn’t the point of the cinema not just to tell stories with an electronic media, but rather to entertain us?

What this all boils down to is the idea that film creates the opportunity for ethics to be pushed and ethical situations to be documented. Aly Colón from the Poynter Institute created a fun list of movies that tell the stories of journalists battling what is ethical and unethical. And in the forum his article created, many of the readers posted lists of movies that revolve around ethics. In fact, it wouldn’t take along look to find ethical dilemmas in just about every movie you watch. After all, there has to be some sort of issue for the antagonist to overcome. So, connecting film and ethics isn’t as difficult as it seems.

My project, however, is not just a film. Instead it is an entire film festival, short film festival to be exact. So what does all of this mean for me… how do ethics play into a film festival? The way I see it, a film festival is to a film, like a newspaper is to an article. The festival is a showcase for for the films that make the cut, much like a newspaper, magazine or news broadcast is the showcase for the articles and stories that make the cut. In looking at the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics, I found two of the four areas of standards to be especially prevalent in a public film festival. The first is the notion that you should Minimize Harm. This couldn’t be more prevalent. I need to understand that although one of the beauties of film is that issues, ideas and ethics can be pushed there is still a risk of emotionally harming those who attend the festival. I think it will be important for me to consider this capability of harm when going through the selection process of entries. Although all of the principles listed in the SPJ Code of Ethics are important to know and understand with my project, the other specific principle that struck me was the idea to Be Accountable. I should be held accountable for all things relating to the festival. I need to be prepared for any criticisms and possible situations that may arise when holding a public event. I feel that if I can keep these principles at the front of my mind, I think I can create a successful event