Nora Poggi is a documentary impact strategist and impact producer dedicated to leveraging film as a tool for education, community engagement, and systems change. She builds coalitions across sectors to advance equity and drive measurable social impact, with a focus on distribution strategies to support independent filmmakers.
FILM DISTRIBUTION
Nora works with clients on their Creative Distribution strategies. Creative Distribution means splitting a film’s rights (digital, theatrical, broadcast, educational, semi-theatrical, etc.) to exploit each distribution window. Strategically determining goals and outcomes for each phase of your film’s distribution journey, instead of giving all your rights away to a single entity, allows your film to be seen by audiences that matter to you, and for you to take ownership of your film’s life. Nora uses her experience with a successful 450+ screenings campaign at corporations, universities, conferences, communities, and non-profits in over 35 countries for She Started It to help others become more creative about how to get their films seen outside of traditional venues and gatekeepers.
IMPACT PRODUCING, PARTNERSHIPS & ADVOCACY
Alongside distribution and revenue-making strategies, Nora works as a freelance Impact Strategist and Impact Producer. She leads impact campaigns for select projects or consults on film campaigns. She spearheaded the She Started It Impact campaign which included 450 screenings in over 35 countries, building partnerships with organizations such as Google, Johnson & Johnson, Bank of The West, Girls In Tech, Black Girls Code, Girls Who Code, creating social media awareness campaigns with local partners, the development of the "She Started It" brand, and She Started It Summits with partnering educators to empower girls in STEAM and entrepreneurship.
Since then, Nora has worked on the campaign for HBO's Emmy-winning film The Tale by Jennifer Fox, with partners such as the United Nations, Planned Parenthood, RAINN, and many more. From 2019 to 2022, she managed the impact campaign for the award-winning movie on women chefs A Fine Line by Joanna James, working on Paid Family Leave and the Family Act, along with pandemic relief for independent restaurants. She co-led the creation of the nonprofit MAPP Impact, supporting women in hospitality.
In 2022-2023, Nora managed the campaign for the Emmy-winning MTV Documentary Films Art & Krimes by Krimes by Alysa Nahmias about artists impacted by incarceration. The campaign included a hundred screenings in museums, art institutions, law schools, and prisons, to change the narrative about currently and formerly incarcerated artists and contribute to ending mass incarceration. In the Fall of 2023, Nora spearheaded the theatrical release of the award-winning animated feature film My Love Affair With Marriage (Tribeca 2022) by Signe Baumane, partnering with leading organizations—Day One, Health Connected, Safe Horizon, One Love Foundation, Peace Over Violence—and produced as a team a sold-out 20-city U.S. theatrical tour with community events and Q&As. For Our American Family with Twin Seas Media, a film about addiction and recovery, she led a second wave of impact outreach, generating speaking engagements for film protagonists and expanding partnerships with recovery organizations, national family support networks, treatment courts, and multiple state Departments of Health.
Most recently, Nora led global outreach and engagement for Counted Out, a feature documentary by Vicki Abeles on math literacy and its impact on democracy and equity. She developed partnerships across school districts, nonprofits, foundations, and state agencies—including several Departments of Education, California County Offices of Education, regional NCTM chapters, the National Museum of Math, and the Algebra Project—to bring the film to educators, families, and policymakers. She co-designed the film’s impact strategy, including a Pi Day initiative that generated 314 screenings in March 2025 alone, and helped drive over 600 screenings worldwide by summer 2025. Her coalition-building with groups like Math for America, Family Math, and regional Leagues of Women Voters supported long-term systems change in expanding math literacy access.
DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKING
With MariaLuisa Ernst, director of A Place of Absence, at Tribeca Film Institute Network market.
Whether it’s about producing a vérité film across multiple continents, interviews, fundraising, film festivals, marketing, or documentary 101, Nora has consulted with dozens of emerging and established filmmakers.
Reviews
“We consulted with Nora about the fundraising strategy and impact campaign for our
documentary film NOT GOING QUIETLY. She was incredibly knowledgeable about
finding both creative and practical ways to seek financing and partnerships with
like-minded organizations. Her guidance helped us enormously when it came to securing
the finishing funds for our film. I would wholeheartedly recommend her services to
anyone who is looking for help with funding or impact strategy for their independent film.
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“Nora shared her expertise and tips on how to create systems, databases and how to scale up. She helped me think about educational screenings and outreach in a completely different way.
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