This episode is generously sponsored by:
Layne Marie is a Director and Filmmaker in Chicago, the Founder and Executive Director of Women of the Now, a media and production company, and the Co-Founder and Director of Development of the Women’s Film Festival in Philadelphia. And she’s not yet 30. This woman makes things happen.
Rachel is a Director and Writer. She has Directed many hours of television as well as films, and is currently developing the Lilly Ledbetter story for a feature film that she will also direct. Having been in this business since she was the voice of Lucy in the Peanuts cartoons, she has an important perspective on this business and where we are headed – for women in particular.
She has been directing television since Doogie Howser. And yet, she is asked to shadow before being hired. The hiring criteria for men and women is still different, and we are still operating under the myth that women in general need more training. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of female directors ready to work right now. No more training required. Let’s shift the focus away from more training and onto the people who hire to insist on more inclusion.
And you can sense an artist when you are talking to them.
Alexia is a filmmaker, and a serious go-getter. She has made 10 films, including Adventures in Plymptoons!, Ginger Girls: The Secret Lives of Redheads, and Little Fishes. She is currently working on her new film called Fantastic Santa Monaco.
She started an art and film festival while she was still in college. She taught me a lot about social media. She is incredibly generous.
And she has the coolest car in the world.
You can find her and her projects here.
Patty Jenkins talks with WIE Co-Founder Gretchen McCourt
On November 2nd, I went to the third annual Women In Entertainment Summit. I love this event.
The day started out with Geena Davis. The Geena Davis Institute for Gender in Media Studies has provided a heap of data surrounding women and girls in media. She presented some data on the day, and as usual, representation of women on screen and behind the scenes are still dismally small. There are some very easy fixes however, and this is a point that really resonated with a lot of people.
She told us that Media can actually fix the problem is has created.
There was a also a lot of talk at the conference about the parts that we own - namely, confidence and advocacy.
On the side, we talked about #metoo.
During the lunch break I caught up with McKenna Koon and Dana Kelly who both work at FullScreen, and I talked with Shirley Davis, EVP of Production at Alcon Entertainment.
On this episode I share a lot of the high points and inspiration from the day – from women such as Geena Davis, Victoria Mahoney, Dee Rees, Jordyn Wieber, Christine Simmons, Gabrielle Carteris and Greta Gerwig.
It was a great day, and this is but a tip of the iceberg.
And my must see films list from the summit: LadyBird, Mudbound, Fear Us Women