Meet The Founder: Leah Appleby and Chris Kamen
They say good things can come from unexpected places and for Leah Appleby applying to Poplabs’ Incubator program on a whim presented an opportunity to challenge her thinking and find purpose.
Leah, who runs Activator Films with business partner Chris Kamen, said she doesn’t regret walking into the experience with a dash of blissful ignorance.
“Chris flicked the application to me on the closing day and with no time to overthink answers we applied. It aligned with our goals of story-telling and impact,’ she said.
Image description: Headshots of Leah and Chris on the left and text ‘Leah Appleby and Chris Kamen, Co-Founders, Activator Films. A feature film distribution and impact-driven storytelling company that incentivises audiences to take action towards the climate crisis. Learn more at poplabs.com.au’ on the right on a white background.
“We need art, we need storytelling, we need creativity to inspire people to collectively be part of the great turning, not the great unravelling.”
Activator Films takes the power of films to inform, inspire and activate society to draw attention to the growing climate crisis and asks us to do more as individuals.
“The biggest issue we all have is not being able to see the impact our contributions make immediately. We don’t see the impact of reducing our meat intake, for example, the next day.
“That is a collective impact, which will be seen in years to come. Chris and I are trying to use the art of film as a different avenue for people to take action.”
For Leah and Chris, being involved with the incubator program and the cohort of founders, has given them a sense of community and support.
“We test ideas on each other, ask for feedback and there is a lot of honesty that helps us finesse our ideas,” Leah said.
“It’s our hope that in 12 months we are distributing films with engaging impact campaigns and looking to become the place audiences come to for inspiring films with answers to how they can make a greater positive impact. “
Follow Activator Films’ journey by signing up at activatorfilms.com
