Women In Film

  Recently I attended an International Film Festival and I didn’t have to go to Sundance or Cannes! It was held right here in Naples (Florida – not Italy!) The Naples International Film Festival began with a red-carpet opening night extravaganza and continued for four days with parties, receptions and film screenings that included; Narrative Features, Documentary Features and Short Films. Although this was the 4th Annual NIFF, it was my very first time attending and what made it even more exciting was this year’s spotlight on women filmmakers and the opportunity to attend a panel discussion and hear from the most talented and creative women working in film today. The panel was held on Saturday, the 3rd day of the festival and was called Women Calling the Shots. Tickets to attend this discussion were a whopping $1.00. I thought this was a misprint and that surely the decimal point was off a couple of zeros and figured it would be standing room only. Wrong on both counts, there were shockingly only about 30 people in attendance – mostly women with a few men tagging along. My initial excitement waned at the size of the crowd and I wanted to run out into the streets of Naples or call every woman in town that I knew and yell “What is wrong with you? Why aren’t you here supporting and learning more about women in the film industry?” The description of the session talked about several high-profile and highly profitable women-driven films that have caused the entertainment industry to pay attention to women in a whole new way, but apparently the rest of the world didn’t get that memo. The panel opened on a positive note and talked about a new trend of increased submissions by women to festivals around the world thanks to films like Bridesmaids which demonstrated at the box office that women can open a movie. They also talked about “crowd sourcing” and creative access to funding through sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo where you go directly to your audience so you don’t have to sell out to Hollywood any more! I could feel the energy in the room rising and I was getting excited again – until the conversation shifted back to the problem – the good ol’ boy network, lack of women at the top and women’s inability to get giant films financed… and boom, like the proverbial pin in the balloon all that positive energy deflated. Finally it was time for Q&A and I raised my hand, the first one to do so. I began by thanking them all for daring to lead the way and then shared my belief about how our thoughts and what we focus on expands and attracts more of the same, and then said “So in that vein, I’d like to know what is right with women in film and what’s in store for young women who are embarking on careers in film making.” Something shifted in the energy of the room and each of the panelist talked about how grateful they are to be doing work that they love and for the opportunity to bring their thoughts and creativity to the world in this exciting medium. They talked about the sisterhood of women in this industry and how supportive and generous so many women have been with their time, expertise and resources. One by one they shared their passion and the unique path that brought them to where they were in their lives and careers, how film school is no longer the sole route and the many options there are today for learning this craft. In a follow up question I asked about the impact organizations like The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and Miss Representation have had on women in the film industry. The response was overwhelmingly positive on the importance of these organizations to promote awareness, activism, media literacy and to better understand how the media is shaping our culture and the lives of girls. You Can’t Be It If You Can’t See It I am so grateful to be a part of this discussion and to know that things are changing and we are making progress. Yet there is more work to do. In this upcoming season, there will be many movie releases and I challenge you to view them through a new lens. Watch for movies with powerful women. Without inspiring females on screen, our girls will be limited by what they believe is possible. Use your social networks to talk about these films and use your voice for positive change. Lights… Camera… Take ACTION! Please share this blog on your social networks and with other girls and women and let’s keep the conversation going! I welcome your comments below and look forward to a whole new generation of confident young women shaping the face of an entire industry and changing the world!