Albie Hecht is an old hand at philanthropy. The former Nickelodeon president who greenlighted such hits as "SpongeBob SquarePants" has long been generous to children's charities. He has produced public service announcements and telethons, organized community outreach projects and created the Big Help, a campaign aimed at getting kids to participate in community service.
But when Hecht became concerned about the plight of young African war refugees, he decided to try something new: He financed a documentary about Ugandan schoolchildren who are struggling with the ravages of that country's 20-year civil war while competing in a national music contest.
His film, "War/Dance," won the documentary directing award at the Sundance Film Festival last month. "I was at Viacom for 13 years being a big producer," Hecht said. "Having gone through that, I really wanted … to do something personal."
Call them "filmanthropists." They have deep pockets and issue-driven agendas. Rather than make high-class dramas that might carry some mild social message, these producers are turning out full-blown advocacy movies.
[The Los Angeles Times]
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