Case Study: Film & Campaign achieves 20,000‑attendee box‑office and nationwide advocacy impact with NationBuilder

How Film & Campaign turned a documentary into a box office success

Film & Campaign, led by Ben Kempas, faced the dual challenge common to activist documentarians: getting independent films seen by large audiences and converting viewers into supporters for social change. To tackle distribution and audience mobilization for the German documentary Die Kinder der Utopie, Film & Campaign adopted the NationBuilder digital organizing platform—using its events functionality and organizer tools to build a cinema‑on‑demand approach and coordinate a nationwide day of action.

Using NationBuilder, Film & Campaign created event pages, captured RSVPs and volunteers, and ran targeted outreach that produced about 1,000 volunteers, roughly 19,000 RSVPs and nearly 20,000 cinema attendees on the May 15, 2019 day of action (the film reached #3 at the German box office that week). Follow‑up surveys from about 2,000 respondents showed 26% reported a more positive view of inclusion after the screenings, demonstrating NationBuilder’s measurable impact in mobilizing audiences and shifting opinions.

Film & Campaign

Ben Kempas

Director