Spring Fling Filmmaker Mixer
Join Film Fatales and WWFC for a virtual networking mixer for filmmakers of all genders and experience levels.
Eager to meet creative collaborators? Excited to share details about your latest passion project? Missing the company of like-minded artists? We will begin with a “getting to know you” exercise before dividing up into smaller discussion circles for meaningful conversations based on a series of guided prompts.
Film Fatales is a non profit arts organization which advocates for parity in the film industry and supports an inclusive community of over a thousand feature film and television directors of marginalized genders.
Women’s Weekend Film Challenge works for gender equity by creating opportunities for women to bring their leadership, talents, and stories to the forefront of the film industry.
This virtual event is open to filmmakers of all genders and experience levels. It will be a fully interactive session.
Read and Watch
How Film Fatales are Tackling Hollywood's Inclusion Problem by Melissa Silverstein
Inspirational Women in Hollywood written by Karina Michel Feld
Of Films, Femmes, and Fatales written by Regan Reid
These Women Changed Their Perspective to Become Woke profile by Oprah Magazine
The Film Fatales Collective Trains a Lens on Gender Inequality by John Anderson
Additional Resources:
Walking Boldly
Join Film Fatales for a discussion with Showrunners, Writers and Creators about breaking barriers in Episodic Television with Emily Spivack (Worn Stories), Ilse Fernandez (Cyberwar), Mel Shimkovitz (High Maintenance), and Xan Aranda (My Love).
This roundtable conversation will amplify creative voices who are breaking barriers in episodic television. How do you pitch a show that has never been made before? How do you maintain your distinctive voice and build community around it? Does a unique approach help you break in, or does it need to be packaged for the industry? How do you choose your battles and what have been your biggest challenges? What does it take to be part of the larger paradigm shift that’s happening in the episodic world and where do we go from here?
Recommended Reading
Catapult Film Fund Award Grants to 3 Filmmakers by Jillian Morgan
Seven Badass Female Showrunners written by Shalayne Pulia
Sick as a Bird written by Jory Carroll
Tales of Well-Loved Clothes written by Maxine Wally
The Awesome Way Women are Running Hollywood written by Lauren Le Vine
The Patriarchy - That’s My Rival written by Zak Stone
Additional Resources
Annenberg Inclusivity in Entertainment Study
Cinereach Fellowships
NBC Female Forward
ReFrame Project
Shonda Rhimes Teaches Showrunning
Showrunners Documentary
UCLA Showrunners Bootcamp
Warner Bros. TV Directors’ Workshop
WGAW Showrunner Training Program
Women in Film - Career Acceleration Programs
Once in a Lifetime
Join Film Fatales for a discussion about Character Driven Documentaries with Amber Fares (Speed Sisters), Eunice Lau (Accept the Call), Laura Checkoway (Edith + Eddie) and Rita Baghdadi (My Country No More).
Hear from experienced multi-hyphenate filmmakers as they discuss their approach to creating character-driven documentaries. We will explore where they find their stories and how they create safe atmospheres conducive to filming such intimate portraits. We’ll dive into how these creators stay inspired and active for the long process of filming a subject over years.
Recommended Reading
6 Tips For Getting Your Subject To Open Up On Camera written by Doug Block
8 Things To Know Before Making A Music Documentary written by Elle Leonsis
9 Filmmakers Tell Us What Makes The Perfect Documentary Character from Tribeca Film Institute
An Interview with Laura Checkoway, Director of Oscar-Nominated Edith + Eddie written by J.R. Jones
Director Duo Show No Easy Answers in Fight Over Land written by Craig Phillips
Eunice Lau on Accept the Call written by Lauren Wissot
Interview with the Filmmaker: Amber Fares of “Speed Sisters” written by Yasmina Tawil
Revolutionizing Representation by Kristal Sotomayor
The Character-Driven Documentary written by CCAGLE
Additional Resources
Breaking the Mold
Join us for a discussion about experimental filmmaking techniques and bold stylistic choices with Film Fatales members Emily Cohen Ibañez (Fruits of Labor), Mariah Garnett (Trouble), Olivia Peace (Tahara), and Penny Lane (Hail Satan?).
Hear from filmmakers forging a path with their uniquely creative voices. Learn where they find inspiration, how they cultivate their style, and how they maintain it in the fast-paced and ever-changing landscape of the film industry. Do bold choices help you stand out or are they something you have to fight to hold onto? How do you maintain your artistic integrity? How do you choose which aesthetic compromises to make?
Recommended Reading:
Can a Documentary be So Bad it’s Good by Penny Lane
How to Talk Experimental Film: A User’s Guide by Minhae Shim
Inhabitable Worlds: Troubling disability, debility, and ability narratives by Emily Cohen Ibañez
In Tahara A Black Queer Jewish Teen Navigates Grief and Toxicity by Daniel Reynolds
Mariah Garnett by Risa Puleo
Meet Emily Cohen Ibanez by Vicki A. Lee
Military Utopias of Mind and Machine by Emily Cohen Ibañez
Notes on Quotes by Penny Lane
She didn’t go to Hebrew school, but she she made an extremely accurate movie about it — a conversation with Olivia Peace by Irene Katz Connelly
Ten Masterpieces of Experimental Cinema by Justin Remes
Trouble artist book by Mariah Garnett
When It Comes to Gender, Let Confusion Reign by Holland Cotter
Women Texas Film Festival Review: Olivia Peace’s Tahara by Tony Ruggio
Additional Resources:
Filmmaking on a Budget
Join us Friday April 2nd 2pm PT for a discussion about low budget feature filmmaking with Film Fatales members Alana Barrett-Adkins (Asunder, One Flesh Divided), Claudia Cifuentes (After the Wedding), Patricia Vidal Delgado (La Leyenda Negra) and Veronica McKenzie (Nine Nights).
Hear from experienced filmmakers as they discuss their unique experiences, and sometimes unorthodox approaches, in the world of low budget filmmaking. We will explore how to overcome numerous obstacles presented in development, financing, casting, crewing, shooting, and post-production. We'll also offer marketing and distribution strategies for scripted feature films made on minimal budgets. Learn how each of these filmmakers found creative ways to overcome challenges specific to low-budget filmmaking to bring their visions to the screen.
Recommended Reading:
A Massive List of Spring 2020 Grants All Filmmakers Should Know About from No Film School
3 Tips on How You Can Encourage Diversity on a Low-Budget Set by Oakley Anderson-Moore
How to Complete a Large Format Film on a Low Budget During a Pandemic by Mari Walker
10 Tips for Successfully Producing a Micro-Budget Feature by Jennifer Westin
Zero Budget Filmmaking Tips: 7 Steps on How To Get That Hollywood Look by Studio Binder
Additional Resources:
Film Fatales Social Mixer: Building Connections
Members of Film Fatales are invited to a virtual social mixer for feature film and episodic television directors around the world. Join us for a community discussion around inclusive language, authentic authorship and ethical filmmaking practices as we continue to work towards decolonizing the film industry. Let's stand in solidarity against systemic racism and gender-based violence as we make space to listen to each other and build deeper connections within our community.
We will begin with a grounding ritual and group conversation led by co-hosts Amy Marquis (Ara, Untamed), Chelsea Hernandez (Building The American Dream) Donna Wheeler (Death of a Saleswoman), and Rijaa Nadeem (Scandal Made me Famous), before dividing up into smaller discussion circles to deepen our relationships based on a series of guided prompts.
Further Reading:
A Reckoning by Sonya Childress
Hollywood Disability Inclusion Toolkit by RespectAbility
How to be Human by Healthline
Interrupting Bias: Calling Out vs. Calling In by Rebecca Haslam
Rest is Resistance by The Nap Ministry
Stop Using “Female-Identified” by Jack Verzuh
Stop using the phrase 'womxn' by Canela López
The Financial Activist Playbook by Jasmine Rashid
This Work isn’t For Us by Jemma Desai
Unapologetic by Charlene Carruthers
Who is Telling Whose Story by Lisa Valencia-Svensson
What to Watch:
Authentic Authorship panel with Film Fatales
James MacTaggert lecture with Michaela Coel
The Big Conversation: The Story of Us with Sundance
The Urgency of Intersectionality with Kimberlé Crenshaw
Your Elusive Creative Genius with Elizabeth Gilbert
Additional Resources: