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 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. 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 * "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 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:  The Women of Appalachia Project Challenges Stereotypes Through Art Waking the Feminists: The Gender Parity Revolution in Irish Theatre Lori Greene's Mosaics: Public Art That Empowers Communities Women Speculative Fiction Writers Form Broad Universe Happy Support Women Artists Now Day 2017! 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.