5/20/2017

Moms in Film Aims to Energize Careers of Parents in Film & TV







Moms-in-Film Aims to Energize Careers of Parents in Film & TV

"You can't promote gender equality without thinking about motherhood and childcare."
-Matilde Dratwa, Founder of Moms-in-Film
Mathilde Dratwa & Christy Lamb
Imagine a room of 100 people all working in the film industry. There are writers, directors, actors, art directors, set dressers, costume designers, makeup artists, grips, electricians, cinematographers, and editors. How many would be mothers?  Only 2 - or to be more precise, an average of 2.3% would be mothers.

A year ago, filmmaker Mathilde Dratwa wrote an article sharing her thoughts about becoming a parent in the face of these daunting statistics. The positive response spurred her to write other articles and to start hosting meet-up groups in New York where women could talk about their experiences as mothers working in film and television.

Before she knew it, she had given birth to Moms-in-Film, a non-profit dedicated to energizing the careers of parents in the film and television industries. Christy Lamb started hosting meet-ups in Los Angeles and joined Dratwa as the Director of Strategy and Development for Moms-in-Film.

In addition to creating a variety of events, writing articles, and launching innovative advocacy campaigns, the energetic duo are addressing the challenge of providing childcare for parents working on location. They are working with designers and childcare experts to create special trailers that can be used as mobile childcare units.
Children Playing in Wee Wagon
At Austin's SXSW Film Festival in April 2017, Moms-in-Film offered free childcare to the attendees in one of their "Wee Wagons," and the response was phenomenal.

Chris Shellen, the director of Spettacolo, said that "free, mobile childcare at festivals and on sets is a game-changer in the fight for gender equality."

Read more about the innovative work of Moms-in-Film on the WomenArts Blog>>

"She" by Dr. Amelia Kemp's Music Therapy
* SWAN Day Song Contest - Third Place Winner *
Dr. Amelia Kemp's "She"
"This song and video were created to remind women that each of us can emerge and live up to our most sacred potential which is often found in our creativity."
    - Dr. Amelia Kemp, Singer-Songwriter & Co-Founder of UR2 Global
Dr. Amelia Kemp aka "Dr. K's Music Therapy" writes songs that tell the story of the human condition. Her goal is to uplift and bond souls together in a way that heals and connects mankind to the Source of their being. Early in her life, she was accepted into the Duke Ellington School for the Performing Arts.  Later she was honored as an "Artist for Peace" by Gandhi's Be Magazine. She has written and performed songs internationally for many global social projects such as Global Woman Peace Foundation and the World Hospice Alliance. She was a member of the Oprah Winfrey Belief Team, a project to promote spiritual diversity and tolerance.

As a psychotherapist and singer/song-writer, she co-founded UR2 Global - an arts project to uplift the self-esteem of humanity with liaisons on five continents. Throughout her career, Dr. K has been struck by how many people do not feel good about themselves at their core. On a regular basis she found herself saying to clients and audiences, "You are too (UR2) - valuable, worthy, wonderful, and special" - hence, UR2 Global was created. She has also written extensively about her work as a psycho-spiritual artist and music as a healing modality.  You can read more about her on the UR2 website>>

The video above includes several UR2 Global Artists-in-Residence such as, Roxi Victorian, Missy Crutchfield and Kristin Hoffmann. Dr. K explains, "These women are simply 'examples' of beacons of light, and do not usurp the light from others . . .  we hope this video empowers women to know that UR2 (you are too!) beacons of light, and that the world is waiting to see you shine."

Lyrics & melody by Dr. K's Music Therapy.  Music arranged and produced by Premik Russell Tubbs.


Laura Seftel: Healing from Pregnancy Loss Through Art
"Shattered" by Beth Shadur
At least one in five pregnancies ends in miscarriage (half a million women in the U.S. every year), and yet aftercare is rarely available for those who have experienced pregnancy loss. For almost two decades, art therapist Laura Seftel has been exploring ways to use the arts to address infertility, miscarriage and other pregnancy-related losses.

In her book, Grief Unseen: Healing Pregnancy Loss Through the Arts (London, 2006), Seftel shares her own experiences of miscarriage and recovery, and describes the use of art and ritual as a response to loss in traditional and modern cultures.

She presents a variety of artists who have explored pregnancy loss in their work, including Frida Kahlo, Judy Chicago, and Tori Amos.The book includes step-by-step exercises in guided imagery, poetry, visual art, journaling, and creating rituals to help people with no prior art experience.

Seftel also maintains a Facebook page called The Secret Club Project  where she posts artworks that deal with pregnancy loss and related issues. 

Recent Posts on the WomenArts Blog 

WomenArts is doing a series of paid guest posts and spotlight articles on women arts leaders. Here are the past five posts: 
If you would like to write an article for us, please check out our Blog Submission Guidelines>> 

Looking for Theatre or Film Opportunities or Grants? 
Free Monthly #StageOpps and #ScreenOpps Newsletters Can Help!

Women in the Arts and Media Coalition in collaboration with WomenArts is publishing free newsletters for theatre and film/video artists listing submission opportunities, grants, auditions, residencies and more. You can follow #StageOpps and #ScreenOpps on Twitter or see the latest issues by visiting the Coalition's website.

To submit listings for the #StageOpps or #ScreenOpps newsletters, please write to: stageopps@womenartsmediacoalition.org or screenopps@womenartsmediacoalition.org.


5/19/2017

LPTW: Oral History: Tony Nominee & Pulitzer Winner Paula Vogel on June 5th!



Promoting VISIBILITY and increasing OPPORTUNITIES for WOMEN in the professional THEATRE
Is this email not displaying correctly?
View it in your browser.

LPTW Oral History Presents:
Tony Nominated Playwright &
Pulitzer Prize Winner Paula Vogel
Interviewed by Drama Critic Linda Winer



Monday, June 5th
6pm


The Bruno Walter Auditorium
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
At Lincoln Center
At the corner of 65th Street & Amsterdam


Paula Vogel's play INDECENT is currently on Broadway and is nominated for Best Play in the Tony Awards.
She has also been honored with a Lifetime Achievement
Obie Award and is a Pulitzer Prize winner.


This program is produced by Betty Corwin,
with Pat Addiss and Sophia Romma.


Free admission. First come, first seated.


This program is made possible, in part, with public funds from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council, and with funds from the NYS Council on the Arts, a state agency, withsupport of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. The Oral History Project also enjoys continued support from the Edith Meiser Foundation.



Happy Mother's Day from Parity Productions



Shop The Parity Store for Mother's Day

Dazzle Mom with rare, exquisite artwork by Sylvia Sleigh, music from The Countess, or a statement necklace by artist Karen Fall. Your purchase goes to a good cause - 10% of it funds The Annual Parity Commission, awarding a woman or transgender playwright with $2,500 and the goal of a future production. Shop at https://www.theparitystore.org/.
"I wanted above all to express the equality of men and women." - Sylvia Sleigh
Happy Birthday Sylvia Sleigh

Happy Birthday to Sylvia Sleigh, who would've been 101 years old yesterday. She was a famed, Welsh-born artist, who's feminist work has been shown all over the world. Visit https://www.theparitystore.org/pages/sylvia-sleigh to learn more about her, and purchase her artwork.

the parity store


5/18/2017

WMM Spring Events:




Film Catalog     About       For Filmmakers      Resources      News & Events
PRODUCTION ASSISTANCE
PROGRAM NEWS

FILMMAKER NEWS


UPCOMING BROADCASTS: NATIONAL BIRD  and JACKSON

Two PA films have national broadcasts this week:
NATIONAL BIRD (dir. Sonia Kennebeck, prod. Ines Hoffman Kanna) and JACKSON (dir. Maisie Crow). 

In NATIONAL BIRD, Sonia Kennebeck gives rare insight into the U.S. drone program through the eyes
of veterans and survivors, connecting their stories as never seen before in a documentary. The film will broadcast on the PBS series Independent Lens on May 1st. Be sure to check your local listings for air times.

With JACKSON director Maisie Crow takes an intimate look into the lives of three women living in the Deep South entangled in the complexities of accessing reproductive healthcare. Showtime will broadcast the film on May 2nd at 7:30 PM and, beginning May 3rd, it will be available On Demand. 



UNREST AT BENTONVILLE FILM FESTIVAL

J
ennifer Brea's film UNREST 
will screen at the Bentonville Film Festival in Arkansas on May 5th at 8:00 PM. 

Jennifer Brea is an active Harvard PhD student about to marry the love of her life when suddenly her body starts failing her. Hoping to shed light on her strange symptoms, Jennifer grabs a camera and films the darkest moments unfolding before her eyes as she is derailed by M.E. (commonly known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), a mysterious illness some still believe is "all in your head.

Buy tickets to the screening and see more about the Bentonville Film Festival here.



HOTDOCS 2017

Women Make Movies would like to wish the best of luck and congratulations to all the PA filmmakers being screened or presented at HotDocs and HotDocs Forum this year. Here's a list of those films:
ASK THE SEXPERT (dir. Vaishali Sinha), A BETTER MAN (dir. Attiya Khan; prod. Christine Kleckner), UNREST (dir. Jennifer Brea), and MY ENEMY, MY BROTHER (dir. Ann Shin);
93QUEEN (dir. Paula Eiselt; prod. Heidi Reinberg), THE FEELING OF BEING WATCHED (dir. Assia Boundaoui, prod. Jessica Devaney), RAJADA DALKA/NATION'S HOPE (dir. Hana Mire). 


For the full festival line-up, click here.


The Production Assistance program accepts fiscal sponsorship applications on a rolling basis. Click here for more details.



 OTHER NEWS
UNIONDOCS QUEER DOCUMENTARY WORKSHOP INTENSIVE

Filmmakers, film producers and distributors: develop your film with Making Queer Documentary at UnionDocs May 19-21. Led by Emmy-nominated filmmaker Cheryl Furjanic (BACK ON BOARD: GREG LOUGANIS), this intensive three-day workshop will explore all aspects of creating documentary for social impact with an LGBTQ lens. Click here to learn more, see the schedule, and register. 


THIRD WORLD NEWSREEL 50TH ANNIVERSARY PANEL: FILMMAKING AND ORGANIZING THEN AND NOW

In this panel presentation, veteran and emerging Third World Newsreel filmmakers, along with present-day activists, will talk about the organization's history. Clips of films about the Black Panthers, the Young Lords, New York City transit workers, street vendors and more will illustrate how independent filmmakers and labor activists have and continue to collaborate through social change media. Featuring clips from films including THE BLACK PANTHERS to THE WRECK OF THE NEW YORK SUBWAYS to THE RIGHT TO VEND, and speakers Christine Choy, and Peter Barton, former Newsreel member. 

Click here to register for event and contribute to the organization. 


APPLICATIONS OPEN FOR THE 2017 PUBLIC MEDIA CONTENT FUND


Call for Entries! The 2017 Latino Public Broadcasting Public Media Content Fund (PMCF) deadline is approaching on June 5th, 2017. Send us your program concepts and proposals. The PMCF is an open invitation to independent producers to submit proposals for a program, limited series or short web-based digital video (no longer than 20 minutes, for distribution on PBS.org or another public media web platform) on any subject that relates to or is representative of Latino Americans that is appropriate for public television and/or one of its platforms. Funding includes up to $100,000 for R&D, production and completion & $25,000 for digital media.
Submit your application by Monday, June 5th here

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. 



WORKSHOP

A Case Study | National Bird
Screening and Discussion with Sonia Kennebeck & Ines Hofmann Kanna
Wednesday, May 3rd, 2017 | 5:30 - 9:00 PM EDT


How does a filmmaker attach Wim Wenders and Errol Morris to Executive Produce her feature-length documentary debut? Find out when director Sonia Kennebeck joins us for a case study on her thought-provoking, accomplished documentary NATIONAL BIRD. Kennebeck will be joined by producer Ines Hofmann Kanna in a stimulating conversation tracing the team's journey from seed of an idea through the making of, the financing and their premiere at the 2016 Berlinale and broadcast on Independent Lens. We'll offer a screening of the film at 5:30pm, followed by the case study at 7pm. You do not need to attend the screening to join us for the workshop. 
 
Please note: If you prefer to register by phone,
 contact us at 212-925-0606 ext 310




WEBINAR

Meet the Festival Programmer | Thom Powers of Toronto International Film Festival & DOC NYC
Tuesday, May 9, 2017 | 4:00 PM EDT



In recent years TIFF has been the launching pad for documentaries such as I Am Not Your Negro and He Named Me Malala while DOC NYC, America's largest documentary festival, showcases over 200 films each year. What are these two prestigious festivals looking for? What should you know before submitting? How can you best take advantage of your festival experience if your project is accepted? Thom Powers, Documentary Programmer for the Toronto International Film Festival and Artistic Director for DOC NYC, will join us to answer your questions. The deadline to submit to TIFF is June 2nd so this is a great opportunity to get the inside scoop on making your film stand out!

**A copy of this webinar will be available to all registrants

 
Please note: If you prefer to register by phone,
 contact us at 212-925-0606 ext 310



WORKSHOP

How to Oscar-qualify Your Film in NYC with Erika Dilday of the Maysles Documentary Center & Jake Perlin of the Metrograph Cinema
Wednesday, May 17, 2017 | 6:30 PM EDT


WMM is thrilled to welcome Erika Dilday of the Maysles Documentary Center, the only independent film house north of Lincoln Center devoted exclusively to documentary programming, founded by the late, great Albert Maysles, and Jake Perlin, Artistic Director and Programming Director for the Metrograph, a new downtown cinema recently celebrating its first anniversary. Erika and Jake will discuss how to work with them to qualify your film for an Academy Award, how much it costs and when you should start planning. They will also talk about how to submit your film to their programming lineups throughout the year. Included in the workshop's handouts will be the official rules 2017 Academy Award submissions. Bring your questions to what is sure to be an informative event!
 
Please note: If you prefer to register by phone,
 contact us at 212-925-0606 ext 310


All WMM workshops and events are open to the general public and our offices are ADA compliant. 

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 with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. The Andy Warhol Foundation, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and the Nathan Cummings Foundation with encouragement from Rebecca Gregg.

 


DCA    


 
Connect with WMM!

 Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter View our videos on YouTube



Women Arts Day 2024!

3/23/24 @ SVA Theatre NYC Join us for our yearly celebration during Women's History Month! ...