SWEET DREAMS goes DIGITAL for International Women's Day!

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WomenArts: SWAN Inspirations from Bulgaria & San Francisco

Home   |   Blog   |   SWAN Day   |   Funding Info   |   Donate   |   About Us  |   Inspiring Idea from Bulgaria: Create a Group Painting for SWAN Day Dear Women in the Arts & Media Coalit, For the past four years Dessi Dimova and the other women of SWAN Festival Bulgaria have found wonderfully creative ways to bring the spirit of Support Women Artists Now Day to their country. Their past SWAN events have included a variety of exhibits, performances, and workshops, including a class where people learned how to make swan designs with the steamed milk in their cappucinos! If you are looking for a fun SWAN project for visual artists, the Bulgarian women created a great model last year. For SWAN Day 2014 they recruited 8 women artists to create a group painting in the middle of the upscale Bulgaria Mall in Sofia. They decided to create a larger-than-life woman's face that would reflect the theme of diversity. The final piece (which you can see in more detail on their Facebook page) is created of twelve canvases which are each one foot square. Each artist painted or used collage techniques to create one or two squares, and the composite woman's face has a wonderful variety of textures and racial/ethnic characteristics. The prominent multi-colored eyes suggest the power of women working together and looking hopefully towards the future. You could do a SWAN group painting anywhere, but it was an inspired touch for the Bulgarian women to create this giant Amazon face in the midst of a busy shopping mall so that the shoppers could have a direct connection with women artists and a woman-centered work. As an added bonus, young women in classic swan ballet costumes passed out refreshments to the shoppers and gave them information about SWAN Day. At the end of the day, the painters posed with their squares while showing their solidarity with women artists around the world by doing the official SWAN Salute (one hand up to look like a swan's head).   You can see a larger version of the picture below on their Facebook page. Mirella Karadjova has also posted a 12-minute video on YouTube showing the creation of the piece. Bulgarian women artists show their work at SWAN Day 2014 Asian American Women Create "A Place of Her Own"   Over the past six months fine artist Cynthia Tom and Trinity Ordona, Ph.D., of City College of San Francisco's Healing for Change Center, have collaborated with the Asian American Women Artists Association and the Asian Women's Shelter to offer A Place of Her Own, a unique arts & healing program for Asian-Pacific American women in social services. As their program syllabus explains, almost all of the family support and social services in the Asian-Pacific American community are provided by Asian-Pacific American women.  These women service providers are at serious risk of burn-out because of the silencing and submissive cultural behaviors that are “expected” of Asian-Pacific American women.  It is culturally taboo for Asian-Pacific American women to seek help for depression. Cynthia Tom and Trinity Ordona have designed A Place of Her Own to help women build personal strength and clarity from the inside out by combining meditation techniques with creative art modalities that relieve stress and heal burnout. The participants study the chakras and meditation techniques, participate in discussions, do written exercises, and are asked to create art works in response to the questions “If you had a place of your own, what would it be? What kind of space would fully express your imagination and values?” The exercises help the participants clarify their own aspirations and address individual, family and cultural patterns of dysfunction in a supportive environment. No arts background is required since the art works are usually created from found objects, and skilled artists are on hand to guide any participants who need assistance.  The long term goal of this project is to generate a sense of community and creative space for women to reconnect with themselves, reverse patterns of trauma and make their hopes and dreams visible. Painting Created At SWAN Festival Bulgaria 2014  The painting above consists of 12 squares painted by 8 Bulgarian women artists. To see a larger image,  click here. To watch a video about the piece, click here. The art of the Fall 2014 participants in A Place of Her Own (described in the left column) will be shown in an Open House on Thursday, February 26, 2015 from 6 - 9 p.m. at 1890 Bryant Street, 302 Gallery in San Francisco. There will also be a talk by the artists on Saturday, March 21 from 1 - 4 p.m. at the same location. There is a suggested donation of $10 - $25 at the door for both events, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Since 2009, 60 women have participated in A Place of Her Own workshops and their art has been featured in thought-provoking exhibitions at the de Young Museum, Driftwood Salon Gallery and SOMarts Cultural Center. To see samples of the works created for these exhibits, please visit the links for past exhibitions on AAWAA's page about A Place of Her Own. Everyone Is Invited to Celebrate SWAN Day! Support Women Artists Now Day/SWAN Day is a grassroots "do it yourself" holiday, and everyone is invited to join us in honoring women's creativity. The official date for the 8th International SWAN Day is Saturday, March 28, 2015, but please feel free to celebrate it any time during March or April that is convenient for you. The spirit of SWAN events is far more important than the exact dates. There are no fees or application forms required to participate in SWAN Day. If you decide to create a SWAN event or if you are doing any event in March or April featuring women artists, we invite you to create a free listing on our official SWAN Calendar.   We will be featuring SWAN events in the WomenArts Blog and  newsletters during March and April 2015.  If you want us to write about you, creating a listing in the SWAN Calendar is the best way to let us know about your event. Did You Get Your Free #StageOpps & #ScreenOpps Newsletters? Women in Arts and Media Coalition in collaboration with WomenArts and the League of Professional Theatre Women is publishing free newsletters for theatre and film/video artists listing submission opportunities, grants, auditions, residencies and more.  Click the links below or follow the #StageOpps and #ScreenOpps tags on Twitter.  There are links at the bottom of each funding newsletter which will let you sign up to receive them by email. Theatre Artists - You can see the current issue of #StageOpps (formerly the Theatre Funding News) by clicking here. Film/Video Artists - You can see the current issue of #ScreenOpps (formerly the Film/Video Funding News) by clicking here. To Submit a Listing - To submit a listing for the #StageOpps or #ScreenOpps newsletters, please visit the Women in Arts and Media Coalition's Submit a Listing Page.

WomenArts: In Spite of Oscar Snubs, Some Women Make Big Bucks

Home   |   Blog   |   SWAN Day   |   Funding Info   |   Donate   |   About Us  |   In Spite of Oscar Snubs, Some Women Make Big Bucks  The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has snubbed women directors and writers once again with this year's Oscar nominations. No women were nominated in the Best Director, Best Original Screenplay or Best Adapted Screenplay categories. Artists of color were also overlooked. None of the 20 nominees in the Best Actor/Actress or Best Supporting Actor/Actress categories were artists of color.  Selma was nominated for Best Picture, but its director, Ava DuVernay, was not nominated for Best Director. But do women really need the Oscars to succeed? Since we noticed that none of the Best Picture nominees were blockbuster hits, WomenArts decided to take a look at the ten top-grossing films of 2014 to see if women were doing better at the box office than at the Oscars. Although none of the top ten films was directed by a woman, we discovered that four of them had women on their screen-writing teams: Guardians of the Galaxy (Nicole Perlman and one man - number 2), The Hobbitt: Battle of Five Armies (Philippa Boyens, Fran Walsh and two men - number 5),  Maleficent (Linda Woolverton - number 7), and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (Amanda Silver and 2 men - number 10).  Although the top-grossing film, The Hunger Games - Mockingjay Part I, had male screenwriters, it is based on a novel by Suzanne Collins. So actually - five of the ten top-grossing films had women writers involved. Is It Better to Have an Oscar or a Blockbuster? The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 has made over $333 million in U.S. sales so far.  Obviously the income for blockbusters is shared among a lot of artists and investors, but when there is so much income, all the key players do well. For those of us in the non-profit sector, it is hard to comprehend the sum of $333 million. It is more than twice as much as the annual budget of the National Endowment for the Arts (the government agency dedicated to supporting our country's artists), and it would be enough to run WomenArts for about 2,000 years. Even within the film industry, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 has made more than twice as much in domestic sales as this year's highest Best Picture nominee, American Sniper ($128 million so far). It has made about six times more in domestic sales than last year's Best Picture winner, Twelve Years a Slave ($57 million).  It made 47 times as much as this year's lowest Best Picture nominee, Whiplash ($7 million). When the international receipts for 2014 are added in, the order of the top-grossing films as of January 21, 2015 changes slightly, and three of the top four had women writers. (Note: The rankings change a little every day as some films continue to sell.) The male-written Transformers: Age of Extinction is number one with over $1 billion in receipts. But numbers 2, 3, and 4 are all films with women writers - The Hobbitt ($806 million), Guardians of the Galaxy ($772 million), and Maleficent ($757 million). By comparison, the total domestic and international sales for Twelve Years a Slave are currently $188 million. Although it is far less than the blockbusters, that amount is still a very healthy return on a film that cost $20 million to make.  Transformers: Age of Extinction cost $210 million. We also looked at the top five all-time highest grossing films world-wide.  The top three are by men - Avatar, Titanic, and Marvel's The Avengers. But Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (based on the novel by woman writer JK Rowling) is number four with revenues of $1.34 billion, and the animated film Frozen, which was both co-directed and co-written by Jennifer Lee, is number 5 with revenues of $1.27 billion. Frozen is currently the top-grossing animated film of all time, and there are 8 Harry Potter films in the top 50 all-time top-grossing films world-wide. Of course, a few blockbuster films manage to win Oscars as well. Titanic won Best Picture and ten other Oscars in 1998, and Frozen won for Best Animated Feature and Best Song last year. But the Harry Potter series, the most successful movie franchise of all time, has never won any Oscars and is arguably the most snubbed top-grossing movie franchise of all time. Are Women Making Progress in Film? For the past seventeen years, Professor Martha Lauzen of the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University has published an annual survey of women's employment in the 250 films with the top domestic grosses.  In 2014, she found that women comprised 17% of all directors, writers, producers, executive producers, editors, and cinematographers working on the top 250 films. This is the same percentage of women working in these roles in 1998. Women fared best as producers (23%), followed by executive producers (19%), editors (18%), writers (11%), directors (7%), and cinematographers (5%).  Women directors were down 2 percentage points from 1998. Lauzen's statistics show that in terms of the number of women employed, women have not made any progress over the past 17 years, but it does seem like a few trail-blazers are starting to break into the upper income ranks.  That seems significant since the films at the top make so much more than the films further down the list. Given the fact that so few women are given an opportunity to write, it is amazing that they are relatively well-represented in the top ten blockbuster films.  And even among the Oscar nominees, five of the eight films nominated for Best Picture have women on their producing teams. Selma has an African-American woman as director (Ava DuVernay), and The Theory of Everything is based on a memoir by Jane Wilde Hawking. Hopefully these trail-blazing women at the top levels will pave the way for more women and more stories about women.  It is encouraging that films based on novels by J.K. Rowling and Suzanne Collins have been such huge box office hits, and the success of films with female protagonists, such as The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1, Frozen, and Maleficent, shows that there is definitely an audience for films with female characters at the center. What Can We Do To Help? According to a Los Angeles Times survey in 2012, the 6,028 Oscar voters are 94% white, 76% male, with an average age of 63.  Given that composition, it is not surprising that their recognition of the work of talented women and people of color is erratic at best. Although it is important to protest their snubs, it seems unlikely that they will change very much until their membership shifts. But it is important to recognize that some films with women writers are making huge amounts of money without the benefit of Oscar nominations. In the money-driven film industry, women who can demonstrate their box office clout are the ones who will be able to make more films, and we can help them build that power.  We just need to buy tickets to their films and encourage all our friends to do the same. So if you want to see more films by directors like Ava DuVernay, make it a point to see Selma and take some friends with you.  In the long run, our cumulative ticket purchases will give women artists the power they need to create the kind of films we want to see. "Selma" Nominated for Best Picture  Ava DuVernay directed "Selma" Although Selma was nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture, Ava DuVernay was not nominated for Best Director.  She joins a long list of women directors who have been snubbed by the Oscars. Barbra Streisand was the first woman to win a Golden Globe for Best Director for Yentl (1983), but she was not even nominated for a Best Director Oscar. Her film The Prince of Tides (1991) was nominated for Best Picture, but again, she was not nominated for Best Director. Only four women have been nominated for Best Director in the 87 year history of the Oscars - Lina Wertmüller for Seven Beauties (1976); Jane Campion for The Piano (1993); Sofia Coppola for Lost in Translation (2003); and Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker (2009).  Bigelow is the only woman who has ever won. Harry Potter Earns the Most Money But No Oscars  J.K. Rowling wrote the Harry Potter novels J. K. Rowling completed the first Harry Potter novel while living as a single mother on welfare. The book was rejected by twelve publishers before it was picked up by Bloomsbury. Her editor advised her to get a day job since he did not think she could make a living from children's books. The Potter books have gained worldwide attention, won multiple awards, and sold more than 400 million copies. They have become the best-selling book series in history, and been the basis for a series of films which has become the highest-grossing film series in history. Rowling had overall approval on the Harry Potter film scripts as well as maintaining creative control by serving as a producer on the final installment. None of the Harry Potter films won any Oscars, but Rowling's wealth is currently estimated at $1 billion. The Hunger Games Makes $333 Million Suzanne Collins wrote The Hunger Games novels The top-grossing film for 2014 is The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 based on the novel by Suzanne Collins.  The film has made over $333 million dollars and has a female protagonist, but it has not been nominated for any Oscars.  Everyone Is Invited to Celebrate SWAN Day! Support Women Artists Now Day/SWAN Day is a grassroots "do it yourself" holiday, and everyone is invited to join us in honoring women's creativity. The official date for the 8th International SWAN Day is Saturday, March 28, 2015, but please feel free to celebrate it any time during March or April that is convenient for you. The spirit of SWAN events is far more important than the exact dates. There are no fees or application forms required to participate in SWAN Day. If you decide to create a SWAN event or if you are doing any event in March or April featuring women artists, we invite you to create a free listing on our official SWAN Calendar.   We will be featuring SWAN events in the WomenArts Blog and  newsletters during March and April 2015.  If you want us to write about you, creating a listing in the SWAN Calendar is the best way to let us know about your event. Did You Get Your Free #StageOpps & #ScreenOpps Newsletters? Women in Arts and Media Coalition in collaboration with WomenArts and the League of Professional Theatre Women is publishing free newsletters for theatre and film/video artists listing submission opportunities, grants, auditions, residencies and more.  Click the links below or follow the #StageOpps and #ScreenOpps tags on Twitter.  There are links at the bottom of each funding newsletter which will let you sign up to receive them by email. Theatre Artists - You can see the current issue of #StageOpps (formerly the Theatre Funding News) by clicking here. Film/Video Artists - You can see the current issue of #ScreenOpps (formerly the Film/Video Funding News) by clicking here. To Submit a Listing - To submit a listing for the #StageOpps or #ScreenOpps newsletters, please visit the Women in Arts and Media Coalition's Submit a Listing Page.  WomenArts 1442A Walnut Street #67 Berkeley, CA 94709 Phone: (510) 868-5096 Website: www.womenarts.org Contact Us>> (Note: WomenArts is the new name of The Fund for Women Artists, a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation.)

Social Media Push for Petition - need 100,000 signatures by 2/6 - please share

Funding Women Artists

100,000 Signatures Needed to Support Equitable Funding for Women Artists by Feb 6th

Inspiring Change for Women in the Arts

During President Obama's administration, the fight for equality has had a renewed energy and significance. The national call for "equal pay for equal work for women" has been heard by the arts community, as well. Women artists have a stake in the call to raise the minimum wage to a living wage, as they often take on day jobs in order to support their families and themselves as artists. Women have the civil and human right to participate equally in opportunities for creative expression in programs supported by taxpayer funds.

The "Cromnibus" bill, recently passed by the House of Representatives, approved $146 million for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities each; $30 million for the Office of Museum Services; and $25 million for the U.S. Department of Education's Arts in Education program. What would equitable distribution of these funds mean for women artists nationally?Everything.

To this end, a petition calling for legislation guaranteeing women equal access and opportunity for employment in government funded arts organizations has been launched. At least 100,000 signatures are needed by February 6, 2015 in order to receive an official response from the White House.

People can view, sign and share the petition here:

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/enact-legislation-guaranteeing-women-equal-access-opportunity-employment-government-funded-arts/k78Rz059

Equitable Distribution of Funds

The petition states: "We the People petition the Obama administration to enact legislation whereby any nonprofit arts organization or institution that is receiving city, state or federal funding should be mandated to allocate an equitable portion of that funding to women artists across the board, thereby ensuring that women receive grants and/or employment opportunities that are still being denied them.

"For example, studies show that in the American Theatre women receive less than 20% of production opportunities nationwide. With this new legislation, playwrights, directors, designers, dramaturgs, etc. would have a fair shot at working and/or creating in their chosen field. Commercial theatre producers will continue to produce and/or employ whomever they choose—man or woman. But when government monies are involved, the petition asks for a mandate for parity in the disbursement of those dollars for all women in the literary, performing and visual arts."

President Obama said in his 2014 State of the Union address,"When women succeed, America succeeds." Ensure that women artists can succeed by signing this petition which can change their lives as well as the landscape of work created by women artists for the enjoyment and betterment of arts and culture in communities, cities, and states across America.

Opportunities to sign the petition are open until Feb. 6, 2015.

View, sign and share this petition today here:

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/enact-legislation-guaranteeing-women-equal-access-opportunity-employment-government-funded-arts/k78Rz059

Shortened link for posting:

http://1.usa.gov/1Ao26IW

Some hashtags:

#LeanIn

#ChangeTheRatio

#Ask4More

#EqualVoice

#parityraid

#paritypetition

#theatrewomen

#womeninfilm

#glasscurtain

#glassceiling

#womencallingtheshots

#halfthesky

#heforshe

More Info? See Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/events/765365980178622/

Shellen Lubin & Avis Boone
Co-Presidents

Women in the Arts & Media Coalition, Inc.
244 Fifth Avenue
Suite 2932

New York, NY  10010
212-592-4511

www.womenartsmediacoalition.org

info@womenartsmediacoalition.org

TIMELY: Arts Funding Petition for Gender Parity

Here is the link to the petition: http://1.usa.gov/1Ao26IW

And here is a link to the press release with social media suggestions: http://onepagerapp.com/rm17

Yvette Heyliger (an LPTW member), has come up with a petition 
about how to connect gender parity to public funding. 

It was not written under the aegis of any particular group or network but was submitted by her.

It already has the requisite 150+ signatures for it to go from "invisible" to "visible" on the White House site. Now it needs 100,000 by Feb 6th to get an official response from the White House.

One person who responded to Yvette right away was Gloria Steinem; Ms. Steinem said she would also explore how this effort might be done without crafting new legislation, via Title IX. That said, we must pursue multiple avenues, and this one might very well help that one along. I propose that we:

1. all sign this petition if we haven't already

2. disseminate it widely to others that would sign via email and/or social media.  

3. officially endorse this petition as an organization and recommend that all our member orgs do the same and put a link to it on our home page; get the word out on eblasts etc; encourage other organizations to do same. 

Yvette also has a press release I can forward you if you are interested; it includes some suggested social media hashtags that we at the LPTW Think Tank have compiled. I will bring next week.

A few things are intriguing about the petition:

• it calls for legislation, but given the character count limit on whitehouse.gov, does not actually spell out the legislation, so at the moment has no actual or potential drawbacks

• it does not call for a quota but for equal access and opportunity

• theatre is mentioned as an example, but it applies to all the arts and to all arts institutions — so we should get it to go beyond our community as well

PICTURING MARY: WOMAN, MOTHER, IDEA at the National Museum of Women in the Arts

Picturing Mary: Woman, Mother, Idea

at the National Museum of Women in the Arts

• Sandro Botticelli (Alessandro Filipepi), Madonna and Child (Madonna col Bambino), also called Madonna of the Book (Madonna del Libro) (detail), 1480–81; Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan; inv. 443 Sandro Botticelli (Alessandro Filipepi), Madonna and Child (Madonna col Bambino), also called Madonna of the Book (Madonna del Libro) (detail), 1480–81; Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan; inv. 443
• Elisabetta Sirani, Virgin and Child (detail), 1663; Gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay; Conservation funds generously provided by the Southern California State Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts Elisabetta Sirani, Virgin and Child (detail), 1663; Gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay; Conservation funds generously provided by the Southern California State Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts
• Fra Filippo Lippi, Madonna and Child (Madonna col Bambino) (detail), ca. 1466–69; Provincia di Firenze, Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Florence Fra Filippo Lippi, Madonna and Child (Madonna col Bambino) (detail), ca. 1466–69; Provincia di Firenze, Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Florence

Picturing Mary: Woman, Mother, Idea on view December 5, 2014–April 12, 2015.

1250 New York Ave NW
Washington, D.C. 20005
202-783-5000
1-800-222-7270 - See more at: http://nmwa.org/#sthash.Hn5CipSg.dpuf

- See more at: http://nmwa.org/exhibitions/picturing-mary-woman-mother-idea#sthash.SQ8frdxa.dpuf

Giving Tuesday - a day to receive that good feeling of giving

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Be a Part of Giving Tuesday! #GivingTuesday inspires personal philanthropy and encourages bigger, better and smarter charitable giving during the holiday season, show that the world truly gives as good as it gets. Today is the third annual #GivingTuesday. The Women in the Arts & Media Coalition gives you so much all year. Won't you consider giving to us to help us do the work of bringing information, events, and opportunities to you? #ScreenOpps and #StageOpps The Women in the Arts & Media Coalition gives to you all year by bringing you these two newsletters with Submission Opportunities for Theatre and Film/Video with a special focus on women and special populations. Don't you want to help keep them coming? Our Signature Events We just produced our 2014 VintAge Event including the first Elsa Rael VintAge Award to Morgan Jenness for Advocacy for Women Aging in the Arts and Media.  (pic: Co-Pres Avis Boone [l] Awardee Morgan Jenness [c] Co-Pres Shellen Lubin [r]) Next year is our famed Collaboration Award - will you be submitting a project? Women in the Arts & Media Coalition Communal Calendar and Blog Every day you can find out what's happening in events and openings of special interest related to women, the arts, and/or the media--today, tomorrow, or well in advance. Our calendar is color-coded and a Google calendar, so you can add it to your own. We also have additional info on all the events on our Blog.  Many events we co-sponsor and/or offer discounts to all the members of all our member organizations (that's over 80,000 people!). Women in the Arts & Media Coalition is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to help further our Mission, please send a check or money order to us at: Women in the Arts and Media Coalition, Inc. 244 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2932 New York, NY 10000 You can also make an online donation through the PayPal button below: Whether or not you spent on Black Friday or Cyber Monday, please consider kicking off your holiday giving season with an end-of-year charitable gift on #GivingTuesday. Thank you!

STAY CONNECTED

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WMM: "The Female Gaze" at IDFA, DOCNYC, grant deadlines and more!

Film Catalog     About       For Filmmakers      Resources      News & Events WOMEN MAKE MOVIES E-NEWS NOVEMBER 2014 IDFA (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam) DOC NYC MacArthur Grants Broadcasts WMM at Conferences Gathr Films and I AM A GIRL End of Year Sale - Up to 65% Off WMM is seeking interns Need to rent a space? Filmmaker News/Submission Deadlines   We are very excited for this year's special focus at IDFA: "The Female Gaze," several days of film programming culminating in an afternoon of discussion, panels and debate on the role of women in documentary on November 22. A group of 15 women directors, including filmmakers from our distribution program Kim Longinotto and Safi Faye, curated a program of 28 old and new documentaries directed by women, featuring WMM's FILMING DESIRE - A Journey Through Women's Film.  You can see the entire list of films here.  WMM continues its long tradition as IDFA attendees and supporters. Executive Director Debra Zimmerman and Acquisitions Director Kristen Fitzpatrick will be at IDFA all week! Kristen will be working with the IDFA Academy, and Debra will be speaking on a panel during the Female Gaze program on November 22. From our Production Assistance Program, CITIZENFOUR, 1971, and TEA TIME will be showing at the festival, and BLUE ID has been selected to participate in the IDFA forum. Distribution filmmaker Kyoko Miyake's (SURVIVING THE TSUNAMI) film TOKYO GIRLS will also participate in the IDFA forum.  Visit the IDFA website for the full program listing, including the Forum and Docs for Sale! WMM has seven films from our Production Assistance Program playing at DOC NYC this year!  Congrats to Director Laura Poitras of CITIZENFOUR who will receive the inaugural Robert and Anne Drew Award for Documentary Excellence! CITIZENFOUR will be screening at the festival along with Sundance award winner E-TEAM, SXSW winner THE GREAT INVISIBLE and the highly anticipated NYC premiere of VESSEL.   Other Production Assistance films Included in the lineup: TOUGH LOVE, SOME KIND OF SPARK and FLORENCE, ARIZONA. See here for the full DOCNYC schedule.   Two WMM Production Assistance films win MacArthur Documentary Fund Grants!  Congratulations to Yance Ford and Vaishali Sinha, whose films STRONG ISLAND and ASK THE SEXPERT were recently awarded MacArthur Documentary Funds! The MacArthur Foundation received nearly 400 proposals in response to its most recent open call for independent documentary film proposals, and only fifteen were chosen for support. We are honored that two out of the fifteen supported projects are part of the WMM Production Assistance Program. The fifteen grants totaled more than $2 million for documentary film projects that "examine serious, timely issues all over the world in creative, engaging ways." Read more about these projects and the other films chosen here.  In other grants news from the Production Assistance Program, Marielle Heller's film THE DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL recently received a grant from Cinereach and Susan Zeig just received a grant from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation for her project EDUCATION: A Community Concern! LaDonna Harris: Indian 101 Upcoming broadcasts from distribution you don't want to miss: THE MOSUO SISTERS Encore broadcast, Global Voices|PBS Sunday, November 16 For more information and to set your local channel click here. LADONNA HARRIS: INDIAN 101 Broadcast premiere, WORLD Channel|PBS Monday, November 17 Part of WORLD Channel programming to celebrate Native American Heritage Month. For more information and to set your local channel click here.   EL GENERAL Encore broadcast, Global Voices|PBS Sunday, December 7 For more information and to set your local channel click here.  Congrats to Production Assistance Program filmmaker Laura Checkoway, whose film LUCKY will have its broadcast premiere on November 15 at 8pm on DirecTV's Audience Network.  National Media Market WMM will be showing films at four conferences this fall. We are so excited to share our 2014-2015 new releases with the education community!  National Media Market (NMM) November 8-12 WMM's Amy Aquilino & Emily Sternlicht will be in attendance at NMM November 8-12 in Charleston, SC! If you're attending be sure to stop by Suite 303 for coupons, raffles and more! At our suite, visitors can view a complete collection of new releases anmmd catch special sneak previews of upcoming 2015 releases including our fantastic newest HBO acquisitions, PRIVATE VIOLENCE and REGARDING SUSAN SONTAG! Be sure to mark your calendars for WMM's Market Mania presentation on November 9 at 1:40pm.  We will also be showing films at these noteworthy stops: National Association of Multicultural Education (NAME), November 5-9 Middle East Studies Association (MESA), November 21  African Studies Association (ASA), November 20-23     WMM has partnered with Gathr Films to bring I AM A GIRL to a theater near you! Individuals can host a screening event for their friends, family, fellow students, co-workers and community. Nominated for four Australian Academy Awards including Best Documentary and Best Director, I AM A GIRL is an inspirational feature-length documentary that paints a clear picture of the reality of what it means to be a girl in the 21st century. I AM A GIRL was the Signature Film Partner at this month's International Day of the Girl Summit at the United Nations. Follow this link and click Gahtr It! to become a FILM CHAMPION of I AM A GIRL today! For more information about I AM A GIRL see the WMM catalog.  END THE YEAR WITH 5 FILMS FOR 65% OFF As 2014 winds down, Women Make Movies is thrilled to offer any 5 films for 65% off in the entire collection*, including this diverse list of award winning titles! As the leading distributor of films by and about women, WMM's catalog features a world renowned collection of educational resources proven to enrich lesson plans and engage students of any discipline. This is the FIRST discounted offer on 2013 releases! Take a look at some of WMM's curated subject areas to fit the needs of your classroom, organization and library. Take advantage of this incredible offer until December 31, 2014.**  *Offer does not include 2014-2015 new releases. **Enter offer code YESDE14 to apply your 65% discount. You must purchase 5 films for the discount to be applied. Cannot be combined with any other offer. Other exceptions may apply. Offer expires 12/31/2014.  WE ARE SEEKING WINTER/SPRING INTERNS Internships are still available for the Winter/Spring 2015 term in our distribution, marketing, production assistance/fiscal sponsorship, and administration departments!  The ideal candidates will be studying film studies and/or women/gender studies and have an interest in human rights and social justice issues. Qualified candidates will demonstrate excellent communication skills; strong organizational skills; the ability to multi-task, work independently and work well under pressure; and will take initiative. Familiarity with Internet research, Microsoft Office Suite, and PC platforms is necessary. Knowledge of and interest in feminist media a plus. All candidates must submit an Internship Application form, resume, and references.  The internship application can be found here.  Spread the word!    WOMEN MAKE MOVIES CONFERENCE ROOM AVAILABLE TO RENT Our beautiful, fully equipped conference/screening room is centrally located on 29th Street and 6th Avenue in NYC. The room is available hourly, 24/7, and seats between 25-30 people depending on desired setup. Room includes: 60" plasma monitor, PC/Mac/iPad hookups, DVD player and WiFi. Rates: Prices vary from $35-$50 an hour, depending on use needs and day/time.   Please contact info@wmm.com for more information on rates and booking. FILMMAKER NEWS    Congratulations to Laura Poitras, whose film CITIZENFOUR, was just nominated for a Gotham Independent Film Award! Lorien Barlow's film HARD HATTED WOMAN was recently featured in The Huffington Post.  Congratulations to Rebecca Haimowitz, who has been selected to pitch her project THE PREGNANCY EXCLUSION at the 2014 PaleyDocs Pitch Workshop Contest!   Kimberlee Bassford's film WINNING GIRL will have its premiere at the Hawaii International Film Festival. Kimi Takesue's documentary LOOKING FOR ADVENTURE has been selected for the international competition at the Montréal International Documentary Film Festival (RIDM). FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGNS Filmmaker Charlene Fisk has teamed with #1 women's golfer Stacy Lewis to raise money for her history of the LPGA, The Founders Film.  For more information visit  here.  Patrick Shen's film IN PURSUIT OF SILENCE currently has a kickstarter campaign.  You can donate here.  Christina Antonakos-Wallace's film WITH WINGS AND ROOTS currently has a DVN campaign.  You can donate here.  Heather White's WHO PAYS THE PRICE has an indiegogo campaign. You can donate here. SUBMISSION DEADLINES FESTIVAL DEADLINES True/False Film Festival Deadline: November 5, 2014 (Withoutabox Extended Deadline) Apply here. SXSW Film Festival Deadline: November 13, 2014 (Late deadline) Apply here. Atlanta Film Festival Deadline: November 14, 2014 (Withoutabox deadline) Apply here.    Ashland Independent Film Festival Deadline: November 14, 2014 (Regular deadline) December 5, 2014 (Late deadline) Apply here. Berlin International Film Festival Deadline: November 17, 2014 (Shorts deadline) Apply here. Hot Docs Film Festival Deadline: November 19, 2014 (Early-bird deadline) December 10, 2014 (Regular deadline) January 7, 2015 (Late deadline) Apply here.    Nashville Film Festival Deadline: November 26, 2014 (Late deadline) January 14, 2015 (WAB extended deadline) Apply here.    Tribeca Film Festival Deadline: November 26, 2014 (Regular deadline) December 24, 2014 (Late entry deadline) Apply here.  Dallas International Film Festival Deadline: December 5, 2014 (Regular deadline) December 12, 2014 (Late deadline) Apply here. Full Frame Documentary Film Festival Deadline: December 15, 2014 (Late deadline) Apply here. Sarasota Film Festival Deadline: December 12, 2014 (Early deadline) January 2, 2015 (Regular Deadline) Apply here.    GRANT DEADLINES Sundance Creative Producing Fellowship and Lab Application opens: November 3, 2014 Apply here. Tribeca Film Institute Documentary Fund Deadline: November 5, 2014 Apply here.  The SFFS Documentary Film Fund Application opens: November 10, 2014 Apply here. Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund Submissions open: December 5, 2014 Apply here. America's Media Makers: Development Grants Deadline: January 14, 2015 for projects beginning August 2015 Apply here. LEF Foundation Grant Deadline: January 23, 2015 (Production and Post-Production Letter of Inquiry deadline) Apply here. Women Make Movies gratefully acknowledges the support of our funders: The National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.  About WMM: Since our beginnings in 1972, WMM has grown from a feminist filmmakers' collective into an industry-leading nonprofit media arts organization and distributor. For over 40 years, WMM has transformed the landscape of filmmaking for women directors and producers, bringing the issues facing women around the world to screens everywhere. Now, with more than 550 films in our catalog, including Academy®, Emmy®, Peabody and Sundance nominees and award winners, WMM is the largest distributor of films by and about women in the world. Women Make Movies. By Women. About Women. For Everyone.

Copyright © 2014. All Rights Reserved.

"2014: Year of the Funny Women, Part 2: Women Cartoonists Draw Top Awards"

"2014:  Year of the Funny Women, Part 2:  Women Cartoonists Draw Top Awards"

www.huffingtonpost.com/beverly-wettenstein/2014-year-of-the-funny-wo_b_6065286.html

More good news for funny women.   Cartoonists are finally drawing a fine line and earning rightful rewards for their work.  Stay tooned!   :-)

Beverly Wettenstein "Celebrate Women Every Day!" "Women Support Women!"

Women's Advocate, Speaker, Journalist, Historian, Author and Media Monitor

Published in Major media and HuffingtonPost

www.thebraiser.com/author/beverly-wettenstein/

www.huffingtonpost.com/beverly-wettenstein/

Beverly Wettenstein monitors the image of girls and women in the media and society.  She writes and speaks and honors women leaders in every aspect of our lives, featuring history, "female firsts," milestone dates.

Unique Women's History perspective to today's news and events.

                              Speaker:   "Celebrate Women Every Day:  A Woman's Place in 2014"

   Founder:    "Women Make History Every Day - 365-Days-A-Yr Database"  

Author:      "A WOMAN'S BOOK OF DAYS"  Random House; BandN 

 

Hello from Sarajevo and the film.factory

Emma Rozanski:

currently studying at Bela Tarr's film.factory (http://filmfactory.ba/home.html).

I write/ directed my film and I have a strong female lead role and a female Cinematographer, so we really are trying to close the gender gap in the film industry.

If you can help by spreading the word in any way, even by tweeting, that would be a wonderful hep to me.

If you do have a moment, this is my campaign:  https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/papagajka/x/6292786

Thanks and Regards,

Emma Rozanski

www.emmarozanski.com
http://filmfactory.ba/
@aparticularfilm

2014: Year of the Funny Women -- Record 60 Women Get Last Laugh At NY Comedy Festival

Please Post, Like, Share, Tweet, Email, Comment

"2014:  Year of the Funny Women - - 

Record 60 Women Get Last Laugh At NY Comedy Festival"

Here's a positive follow-up to Beverly Wettenstein's 2010 post on "No Women Featured in NY Comedy Festival!  No Joke!"    This year women are featured in the ad.  A record 60 women will participate in the NYCF, including three all-women shows!

For those who question if women have a sense of humor -- or are funny -- read on. 

www.huffingtonpost.com/beverly-wettenstein/2014-year-of-the-funny-women_b_5996586.html

Beverly Wettenstein "Celebrate Women Every Day!"

FOOD & WINE TO PUBLISH ALL-WOMEN ISSUE IN JAN. - SUPPORT WOMEN CHEFS & RESTAURATEURS

 For Release: Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2014

 Contact: Beverly Wettenstein

wettenstein@aol.com

FOOD & WINE TO PUBLISH "WOMEN WHO RULE FOOD WORLD" IN JANUARY

WHEN WILL WOMEN CHEFS RISE UP TO BE ON FOOD & WINE "BEST NEW CHEFS" LIST?

Beverly Wettenstein's annual status report on women chefs and restaurateurs published today: 

www.thebraiser.com/women-chefs--food-wine-magazine-feature 

Advocacy journalism works!   She reports exciting news and milestones for women on the culinary calendar:

FOOD & WINE DEDICATES JANUARY ISSUE TO WOMEN WHO RULE FOOD WORLD

Wettenstein's advocacy, letters and annual reports for more than a decade -- along with leading, outspoken women chefs -- have made a difference. The proof is in the pudding.  Dana Cowin, longtime Editor In Chief of Food & Wine, called to tell her F&W  will dedicate the January 2015 issue to the women who rule the food world.

CALL TO ACTION FOR WOMEN LEADERS:  HOW TO SUPPORT WOMEN CHEFS AND RESTAURATEURS

Wettenstein is on a mission to urge women leaders and event planners to put your money where your mouth is and turn up the heat.  Seek and support women chefs and restaurateurs when booking events and conferences.  This is especially important for events honoring women and sponsored by women's organizations.  She also recommends requesting and hiring female wait and bar staff, to support working women.

FOOD PROFESSIONAL RESOURCES FOR WOMEN

List and links to leading organizations formed to support and advance women in the profession. 

Share the story on The Braiser's Facebook and Twitter pages

Facebook:    www.facebook.com/TheBraiser

Twitter:         www.twitter.com/TheBraiser

The Braiser:  info@thebraiser.com

10 Women Directors to Watch in 2014 from Shannon M. Houston at Paste Magazine

10 Women Directors to Watch in 2014

By Shannon M. Houston

April 14, 2014  |  10:53pm

Read the Original Article on Paste

In writing a piece like this, a phrase from Virginia Woolf’s To The Lighthouse comes to mind: “Women can’t paint, women can’t write.” Charles Tansley’s words echoed throughout the novel (and in Lily Briscoe’s thoughts) the way another phrase has been echoing throughout the film world over the last few years: “Women don’t direct.” It’s difficult to dignify that statement with a response, to actually construct an argument about how women, everywhere, are clearly making films (whether those films are getting deserved recognition or not). Luckily, a few brave souls like Lexi Alexander have recently taken up the task, and others are even highlighting another point—that not all creatives in the film world want to direct And while this is important to consider, today we look at the professionally creative women who dowant to direct. These ten filmmakers have either successfully completed a recent project deserving of some buzz, or they have one forthcoming—in many cases, they have both. One thing they all have in common is that they have managed to ignore the whisperings of the Mr. Tansleys of the world long enough to make a movie. And for that, we thank them. Here are ten of the many women directors (some others of whom made our list of ten black directors we’re excited about ) to look out for in 2014.

1. Lucy Mulloy

Last year, Mulloy told Paste about how she used to sneak into Spike Lee’s NYU classes—she eventually went on to become his protégée. His grant helped her create last year’s award-winning film, Una Noche. Set in Cuba, Mulloy cast two untrained actors in the lead roles and primarily worked from an outline rather than a script. She also refused to shoot at the typical Cuban landmarks and locations, using the homes of actual residents and creating an inspired rawness that captivated audiences. When the film first premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2012, Mulloy won the award for Best Director and the film also won Best Cinematography and Best Actor. (Javier Nunez Florian and Dariel Arrechada shared the award.) She’s currently at work on a new project centered on a male protagonist who leaves Rio to come to New York.

Follow Mulloy on Twitter.

2. Ava DuVernay

The first black woman to win Best Director at Sundance (for her second feature,Middle Of Nowhere), DuVernay has a big year ahead of her, taking on the much buzzed about film Selma, which will focus on Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1965 landmark voting rights campaign. Oprah Winfrey is producing, and David Oyelowo will be taking on the lead. When she’s not behind the camera, DuVernay is running the African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement, an organization she started back in 2011, in an attempt to give more visibility to black cinema.

Follow DuVernay on Twitter.

3. Eliza Hittman

After coming out with a few short films, Hittman made her feature directorial debut this year with It Felt Like Love. A fascinating, visually enticing piece (reminiscent of the 2005 movie Havoc and Catherine Breillat’s Fat Girl), Hittman’s unflinching exploration into the truly secret life of the American teen has us excited for future work from the professor and filmmaker. She describes her next project as “the anti-Juno.”

Follow Hittman on Twitter.

4. Gia Coppola

This year she’ll be releasing her directorial debut, Palo Alto, and audiences are excited to see how Coppola will rise to the task of differentiating herself from other filmmakers, particularly those in her family. Like Hittman, she is another director attempting to capture American youth in a more open and forthcoming way. Palo Alto stars James Franco (whose short stories inspired the film) and Emma Roberts.

Follow Coppola on Twitter.

5. Susanne Bier

Her 2011 film In A Better World won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language film, and she also directed the American-language movie Things We Lost in the Fire, but Bier still isn’t a household name here in the states. This could all change with the release of this year’s Serena, which re-teams America’s sweetheart Jennifer Lawrence with Bradley Cooper. Lawrence will play the title role and wife to a wealthy businessman in Depression-era North Carolina.

Keep up with Bier on the Denmark Film site.

6. Jillian Schlesinger

Earlier this year, Schlesinger brought the amazing true story of Laura Dekker (the youngest person to sail around the world on a solo mission) to the screen withMaidentrip. The daughter of a sailor and a storyteller, Schlesinger has the spirit of an adventurer running through her veins. The documentary filmmaker actually started out working behind the scenes, and the film world is lucky that she decided to step out and helm her own projects. Schlesinger tells Paste that she plans on working more with young women in both documentary and narrative film. Her next project will tell the story of women pursuing undergraduate and graduate studies in artificial intelligence research.

Follow Schlesinger on Twitter.

7. Gina Prince-Bythewood

A director of favorites like Love & Basketball and The Secret Life of the Bees, Prince-Bythewood is a familiar face on the Hollywood scene, although it has been six years since her last feature film. This year she returns with Blackbird, and she’s got a fine cast for this story of a young musician on the come-up. Minnie Driver, the critically under-appreciated Nate Parker, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw (the star of Belle, the upcoming period piece from another director we’re excited about, Amma Asante). Always one to bring a powerful tale to the big screen, one hopes that there won’t be another long wait between this and Prince-Bythewood’s next project.

8. Jehane Noujaim

Back in 2006, Noujaim won the TED prize for her second documentary featureControl Room and used her prize wish to unite the entire film world on May 10, 2008 AKA Pangea Day. Since then, she has continued to unite the world under her lens. In an interview with Paste, Noujaim, whose documentary The Square was nominated for an Oscar this year (now on Netflix), told us that when you’re a part of a political movement, you can never really be satisfied. The good thing about that dissatisfaction is that we can rest assured that it will soon lead to another project from the supremely talented filmmaker.

Follow Noujaim on Twitter.

9. Amy Seimetz

In January we named her the breakout actor/filmmaker of the year for her astounding body of work. (She’s appeared in 40 productions over the last five years). Paste film editor Michael Dunaway dubbed her “the Magic Johnson of the film world” for her unique ability to play so many different positions (writer, director, actor, producer) so well. Her feature film debut, Sun Don’t Shine, was one of our favorites, and she followed it up with the short When We Lived in Miami. Although we don’t know when Seimetz will find herself behind the camera again, we know she’s definitely one to watch.

Follow Seimetz on Twitter.

10. Miriam Kruishoop

Although the name may be new to many of us, Kruishoop has been making waves in the Europe film world for some time now. She was given a grant from the Dutch Film Foundation to finish a film titled Vive Elle while she was still in school—a grant almost never awarded to students. She’s also the youngest woman to have directed a feature film in the Netherlands. Last year, she won the award for Best Director at the Los Angeles Latino Film Festival for Greencard Warriors. Starring newcomer Angel Amaral and Vivica A. Fox, the film tells the story of an undocumented Latino family in Los Angeles and their fight against the powers of gang violence and—perhaps—the even greater threat of the U.S. government. Greencard Warriors will be released in April.

Keep up with Kruishoop on her website.

Shannon M. Houston is a New York-based freelance writer, regular contributor to Paste, and occasional contributor to the human race via little squishy babies. You can follow her on Twitter.

First Online WIth Fran: Marisa Vitali & Alysia Reiner Blog

11/5/13

New Interview from
FIRST ONLINE WITH FRAN

STAYING CLEAN:

Starting the Conversation

With GRACE, the Movie

Interview with Marisa Vitali
and Alysia Reiner

Check it out!

Monday Morning Quote 10/21/2013 #Collaboration #CollabAwards

Monday Morning Quotes from Shellen Lubin   Start or join a discussion  about each week's quote on our Facebook page!    Shellen's website  Quote Archive Search Quotes   Monday Morning Quote  October 21, 2013 #Collaboration "Collaboration, it turns out, is not a gift from the gods but a skill that requires effort and practice." Douglas B. Reeves "We are exploring together.  We are cultivating a garden together, backs to the sun.  The question is a hoe in our hands and we are digging beneath the hard and crusty surface to the rich humus of our lives." Parker J. Palmer As true in the collaboration of relationship and family as it is in the business and artistic workplace . . . it is a skill . . . it is a practice . . . it is an art . . . My collaborative professional work this week is putting together and co-hosting (with my Co-President, Avis Boone) the 2013 Collaboration Awards for the Women in the Arts & Media Coalition, a very exciting evening celebrating Women Working With Women, that I am collaborating on with some wonderful women, and that is honoring some women I respect and revere and love. My collaborative personal work this week is trying to keep taking all the curve balls we've been thrown (and are throwing at each other) and find a way to keep moving forward with strength and with grace.  Take no crap but do it nicely.  Not always easy.  Especially in a week like this one coming up. But I keep cultivating the skills, the practice . . . I have a plan for a book in my list of projects to write sometime:  "Relationship As a Collaborative Art Form."   The process is the product. With our search feature on the MMQ website you can search for quotes with any name or keyword  . . .