About
A division of the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, 100 Strong Productions ® endeavors to tell the untold stories of North Carolina through documentary films, and various other video productions in support of the NCACC's mission.
Background
In 2021, the NCACC formed 100 Strong Productions to uncover the issues and highlight the stories of North Carolina and its counties using documentary films. As of early 2024, 100 Strong has produced two documentaries. The first film, Resilience: Food For All, released in 2022, tells the story of food insecurity in our state.
Resilience began as a pilot project and quickly turned into a critical communications tool, proving that this type of storytelling can surface the issues faced by our counties and state. The film was screened in several counties, culminating in a large screening event at NC State University’s James B. Hunt Library in Wake County in March 2023, with more than 300 in attendance.
Screening events are great opportunities to feature a panel discussion where local stakeholders can have conversations about the issues in their local areas. The discussions can lead to multiple impactful outcomes, including renewed conversations and unique connections among those local stakeholders and community members. Resilience saw many worthwhile impacts come from its screening events, and the film won awards in an international competition. It reached thousands of viewers between in-person screening events and online distribution.
After reaching success through its pilot project, 100 Strong released another film, The Veteran’s Battlefield, in 2023. It is the first full-length documentary film produced by 100 Strong, and it highlights the struggles veterans face when transitioning back to civilian life after their service to our country. It premiered in Wake County at the NCACC’s 2023 Annual Conference with 300 statewide county officials in attendance, as well as many veterans and veteran support workers.
To date, The Veteran’s Battlefield has been screened in more than 20 locations in 15 counties across the state, with some events seeing up to 150 attendees. Those in attendance included veterans, community members, elected leaders, and local stakeholders.
100 Strong used a newly developed screening model for the distribution of this film, which includes a toolkit to help guide counties with step-by-step instructions on how to set up a community screening. The toolkit equips counties with all the materials and guidance needed to host an event, including social media posts, graphics, poster designs and best practices for planning the screening.
Our team here at 100 Strong Productions has learned a lot on this journey thus far, and we believe this storytelling medium will be a powerful tool to bring awareness to the issues that our state and counties face here in North Carolina. We also believe the films we produce can be both inspirational and instructive as innovative ideas can be shared through the telling of these stories. We hope you will join us on the journey as we tell the untold stories of North Carolina for the betterment of our state and all 100 North Carolina counties.
100 Strong Productions Logo Relaunch — New Branding Affirms Commitment to Tell the Stories of North Carolina’s 100 Counties
Friday, April 12, 2024 - As we celebrate its third year, the NCACC’s 100 Strong Productions logo might look different, but its focus remains the same — sharing the stories of 100 counties for the betterment of one state — one vision, one team, #100Strong.
At the start of 2024, the 100 Strong Productions team decided it was time for a cleaner look and a more established brand style. While interested in creating something bold and distinct, the team wanted a new logo and a new brand style that hinted at the first version of the 100 Strong logo. With an intent to create memorability, the new logo uses the original bright orange, explores texture with font, and molds text into a rectangular shape. The team was also interested in seeing graphics representing the energy and success of the production company.
With the completion of two award-winning documentaries (Resilience: Food For All and The Veteran’s Battlefield) and several short video series (e.g., County Lines, an eight episode video series showing the responsibilities, processes, and hard-working people that make county governments operate in North Carolina), the new logo affirms the production company’s dedication in support of the NCACC’s mission to capture a visual representation of the untold stories that impact North Carolina’s 100 counties.
For an in-depth account of how 100 Strong began and the community impact of its two documentaries, please read the feature article in the Winter 2024 issue of CountyQuarterly. The new brand identity will be rolled out across 100 Strong’s website, marketing materials, and social media channels. To learn more about 100 Strong Productions, visit www.100strongproductions.com.