Film director Stephen Gyllenhaal shared what he learned from making his new documentary, UnCharitable, in his new uInterview.
UnCharitable highlights three of the most successful U.S. charities, which were shut down by watchdogs. It questions the traditional constraints on salaries and marketing that are put on nonprofit organizations and demand a change in the system.
Gyllenhaal, who is the father of famed actors Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal, explained what drove him to make the documentary when he heard the story of his friend Dan Pallotta, whose AIDS Ride charity was shut down due to negative reports about its high overhead costs.
“I really love documentaries and how important they are,” Gyllenhaal told uInterview founder Erik Meers. “I had just finished a documentary called In Utero, which was all about the science from conception to birth… it became very important in the pre-natal, perinatal world and, in fact, led me to set up my own nonprofit, which is a mental health institute. Dan came out to L.A. and said, ‘You think there’s a movie here?…’ that was six years ago… I began to realize that, by focusing media on this subject and potentially igniting the not-for-profit mission-driven charitable sector, it could have a major impact on changing the world.”
Gyllenhaal discussed the focus of the film, noting that viewers are able to see the documentary for free.
“We have a choice. We either put all our money into products, and a good time, and war and movies about good times,” he said. “We can do that, continue down the road we are on until nobody cares about CEOs getting 300 times the amount that the workers get. As I got deeper and deeper into the subject, I thought, ‘Why aren’t they being paid more?…’ It’s time for a radical change, where people finally say, ‘I have hope.’ You can decide to have hope, and we are saying, ‘If you want to see this movie, then you can purchase a ticket for free and donate at the other end.’ In other words, we pull people into the concept of charity. The charitable sector is willing to let you see this movie for free. Interestingly, you’re engaged in this experience of feeling charitable and hopeful.”
When asked how people can get involved in the cause, Gyllenhaal said that people should work to achieve the “impossible dream.”
“You need to do marketing that says, ‘Have hope.’ You need to be able to take risks and not worry about the attorney general shutting you down because something didn’t work,” he said. “You need to have time to figure things out. And you need capital.”
Gyllenhaal explained what he believes to be the primary issue of the nonprofit sector.
“There are three sectors: there’s the private sector, there’s the government sector and there’s the not-for-profit sector,” he said. “The charitable sector is a large sector — it’s a trillion-dollar industry — it just needs to be released. It’s not going to do it by itself, but it can start it.”
“Almost everything dealing with human beings or helping a community has started in a small way with charitable. It’s the sole, the heart of the culture, but not the whole thing,” he continued. “You need for-profit people, you need [politicians] to represent the whole country. It’s a whole package… I focus personally on the charitable sector because I think it’s the piece that can really crack things open.”
UnCharitable is now streaming in theaters. Find out more here.
