Obama's Higher Ground to Receive Berlanti Social Impact Award at UCLA Summit
Higher Ground, the media company founded by Barack and Michelle Obama, will receive the second annual Greg Berlanti Social Impact Award. The Center for Scholars & Storytellers at UCLA announced the company as this year's recipient, as reported by Variety. It is only the second time the prize has been given.
Greg Berlanti will present the award himself. The presentation is scheduled for Oct. 22 at UCLA's Luskin Center. It will take place during the sixth annual Teens & Screens Summit. That makes the summit the venue for the sixth year running, and the award part of its programme for the second.
Joe Paulsen will accept the award for Higher Ground. He is the company's head of business and strategy. He has been with Higher Ground since its inception, meaning from the very beginning. His role puts a long-serving executive on stage for the handover.
Higher Ground's screen work centres on documentaries. Its credits include American Factory, Crip Camp and Rustin. A documentary is a nonfiction film, built around real people and events rather than a scripted story. Those three titles were listed with the announcement.
The company also works in audio. Its podcasts include IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson, The Wonder of Stevie and Fela Kuti: Fear No Man. A podcast is an audio series that listeners can stream or download episode by episode. The three shows place Higher Ground in both film and sound.
The award carries Berlanti's name. He was its inaugural recipient, meaning he received the first edition. He accepted that first award at the Teens and Screens Summit, as reported by Variety. This year he returns as presenter rather than honouree.
The prize honours creators who use their platforms to address important social issues and inspire positive change through compelling narratives, according to Deadline. The description sets a direct test. It rewards storytelling that seeks to entertain and to prompt change.
What makes this stand out is the handover. A first winner passing the prize to the second winner gives a new award continuity. For viewers, it brings those three films and three podcasts back into view.
