Women In Cinema is shaking things up this month. Instead of having our usual (awesome) panel, we will be hosting A Night of Member Screenings. We're very excited for our lineup and you should be, too! A Night of Member Screenings will showcase the WIC Fall 2012 Film Festival Scholarship winning films, a fine cut of the WIC summer production, and more short films created by WIC members. This is a great opportunity to see what your fellow classmates have been up to and to meet other members. PANEL DETAILS Wednesday, February 27 Starts at 7:30 pm CMA 3.120, Free Admission Facebook Event
The results are in from the voting and there were ties for first and second, so we will actually be works hopping 4 scripts at this next meeting and voting again to pick one of those.
These scripts are:
Alex Thomas's "Chicken & Frittata"
Iris Blackburn's "Untitled / MockTrial"
Malina Panovich's "Cream Dreams"
Sarah Gonzalez's "Saturday Afternoon"
We will be reading and workshopping these four scripts and then have a live voting to pick the winning script. If you'd like to have vote and be apart of picking the script, come to this meeting.
Enjoy screenwriting?
Want to make a fully funded short film with us this summer?
Want to hear some humorously bad attempts at Spanish accents?
Either way, come to our Final Four Script Workshop this Thursday at 7pm, so you can watch your fellow members read aloud 4 awesome scripts, throw around some feedback and ultimately vote on which of these super scripts we will turn into a short film this summer!
Thursday, March 29, 2012
7:00pm until 10:00pm
Location: CMA 3.124
Screenwriter/Producer Suzanne Weinert will be in attendance to give her expert advice.
At the end of the meeting, all those in attendance will vote via ballot on their favorite script.to pick the winning script.
You have to be a member to vote...and to work on the summer production.
SUZANNE WEINERT is a screenwriter/producer who previously served as Vice President of Julia Roberts’ New York film production company, Shoelace Productions, where she participated in the development and production of more than 25 projects, including Erin Brockovich by Susannah Grant and Gigi LeVange’s Step Mom, and produced the award-winning wildlife documentaries, Nature Series: Wild Horses of Mongolia for the Nature Channel and Orangutans of Borneo for PBS, as well as the award- winning short film The Call Back starring Sam Rockwell. Prior to that, she interned with director Ron Howard during the production of The Paper starring Michael Keaton, Glenn Close, Robert Duvall and Marisa Tomei. Recent screenplays include rewriting Shrinking Violet for Revolution Studios; Road Stories, directed by Steven Seebring and starring Johnny Messner; and Good to the Last Drop, a finalist for Best Comedy at the Austin Film Festival. Her most recent writing/producing project is the dark comedy Ex-terminators, starring Heather Graham, Jennifer Coolidge and Amber Heard, which had its world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival in 2009. It is currently available on DVD and Video on Demand. She also recently completed producing a Western, The Legends of Hell’s Gate, starring Eric Balfour, Henry Thomas, Jenna Dewan, Summer Glau, Robert Buckley and Lou Taylor Pucci. In Spring 2011 she will produce One in A Million Hero, a drama set in the world of NASCAR. Ms. Weinert holds an M.F.A. from the School of the Arts, Columbia University; a Graduate Certificate from The Writing Program, Columbia University and a B.A. in Writing from Columbia University. She is a Professor of Advanced Screenwriting at the School of Visual Arts and Fordham University, both in NYC.
Chicken and Frittata: A divorced couple introduce their new significant others at their 'multi-ethnic' dinner party.
Cream Dreams: A man and woman meet for a first date at a yogurt shop but can only keep thinking of what the other is like sexually based on their yogurt selections.
Sunday Afternoon: As a couple gets lost on their way to a wedding in a lower middle-class neighbor, they accidentally run over a family's dog, in front of the children who were playing. As the family and the couple fight over who's to blame, it becomes clear that there are no innocent parties in this situation.
Untitled: In a world where personal property is not respected, one girl/woman/whatever you want them to be, will stand against tyranny to bring forth justice! Little does she know, her actions will destroy life as she and her roommates know it.
We're doing an online fundraiser through Indiegogo (which is similar to Kickstarter, only better) and we're looking for support. Please check out our campaignhttp://www.indiegogo.com/womenincinema/ or at least watch the video, read the description and help spread the word.
In the first day of launching our campaign we reached a little over 10% of our whole goal which is awesome. We're on our way to having a successful campaign but we need help. We're in need of help to fund our programs and our summer production. Anything helps, $10, $25, $100. If you want to see more female voices in film, here's how you can help.
Women in Cinema is a student organization Kat Candler started in early 2011 after witnessing class after class where she would only have 2-3 female students in a film class of 20-24. She wanted to figure out a way to nurture and support the females in the film program at the University of Texas. The organization provides basic camera, sound and lighting workshops at the start of each semester. We offer monthly panels with guest speakers such as Sandra Adair, Amy Seimetz, Beth Sepko, Susan Kirr, Suzanne Weinert, Alma Kuttruff, Rakeda Lashae and so many more ... We provide mentorships with all of the members to create a bigger community and personal support throughout the semester. And lastly we do a summer production with an all female crew. Last summer Women in Cinema did a scene for the 2011 Slacker remake and this summer we're in the midst of developing a short narrative.
If you don't know, online fundraisers like Indiegogo are all about allowing anybody to raise money for any idea. No more car washes and bake sales. The sites structure allows users to create a page for their funding campaign, set up an account with PayPal, make a list of "perks" for different levels of donation, then create a social media-based publicity effort. Users publicize the projects themselves through Facebook, Twitter and similar platforms. The site levies a 4% fee for successful campaigns, and 9% for campaigns that fail to reach their target amount. Online fundraisers are a great way for filmmakers, like us, to get some start up cash while we wait for grants and people to pay their membership dues.
We know times are hard and no one has a ton of money but really, anything will help. You can write in whatever amount of money you'd like. Even if you can't give right now and plan to give later, let your friends, co-workers and family know about what I'm doing and see if they can help. This is a really important organization that aims to encourage more female filmmakers. We have 44 days to raise this $2,000 and we know we can do it, we just need everyone's help, not only to donate if they can, but also to spread the word. Recently Women in Cinema was named one of the 2012 Texas Parents Students Enrichment Award Recipient.
Here is our organization's site http://womenincinema.blogspot.com/ please "follow it" because it helps the online visibility and feel free to bookmark it in your browser.
Last night we had our script reading for the summer production. We got 10 wonderful scripts by Women In Cinema members, Brittany Reeber, Alex Thomas, Malina Panovich, Katy Poulter, Catherine Jackson, Jing Yang, Carlyn Hudson, Megan Cardwell, Sarah Gonzalez, and Iris Blackbur. Unfortunately because of time, all we did was read each script. All the people who submitted scripts and the Women in Cinema officers will now vote on their favorites and the top three scripts will get workshopped on March 29th. After the workshop, Women In Cinema Officers will pick the best script for the summer production.
It's all very exciting. Please join Women In Cinema for the script workshop on March 29th. Be a part of the pre-production process.
Loglines for the scripts:
Blackout Arm Wrestling tells the tale of one man's missed opportunity to escape his bar-fly life on a night filled with debauchery, violence and taxidermy.
Chicken and Frittata: A divorced couple introduce their new significant others at their 'multi-ethnic' dinner party.
Cream Dreams: A man and woman meet for a first date at a yogurt shop but can only keep thinking of what the other is like sexually based on their yogurt selections.
Fallout: Though a few strangers have ended up together in a bomb shelter during nuclear warfare, they remained determined to stay alive, with or without each other.
Kiss of Death: A woman is seduced by Death and Time in a rundown carnival. When faced with the immediacy of her own death she must decide how to live with the time she has left.
Mother's Day: A night of debauchery leads to a morning of unfortunate desperation.
Mother's Photo Album: A lonely woman suffering from Alzheimer's only remaining memories are of her beloved son's childhood.
Smiley: The new girl at a high school, Sam, learns that people are not always predictable by hearing about the troubled past of a popular boy, Julian and his dad unintentionally involved with drug trafficking in Mexico. Sunday Afternoon: As a couple gets lost on their way to a wedding in a lower middle-class neighbor, they accidentally run over a family's dog, in front of the children who were playing in the front yard. As the family and the couple fight over who's to blame, it becomes clear that there are no innocent parties in this situation.
Untitled: In a world where personal property is not respected, one girl/woman/whatever you want them to be, will stand against tyranny to bring forth justice! Little does she know, her actions will destroy life as she and her roommates know it. Based on the true story of my imagination, or something that I dreamed and thought was real. Inspired by Stephen Hawkings and endorsed by Oprah.
In Women In Cinema's first year (then known as Reel Women Students) we decided to make a short film in the summertime. Last spring we were having trouble getting scripts for the production because we started planning it so late in the semester but then we got an amazing opportunity to do a scene from the Slackerremake (thanks to Sarah Gonzalez). It was an amazing experience for everyone involved. The scene was shot with a wonderful all-female-crew (plus one male still photographer).
We would like to keep up this tradition and make another short this summer with an all female crew. But before we start getting a head of ourselves, we need a script. The most important thing to any movie is the story. Many students forget that. Thankfully we have the wonderful filmmaker/screenwriter, Kat Candler, to help us find and workshop the scripts.
We are currently receiving scripts for our summer production.
Here are the details for the submission:
Due Date: Monday, March 5th. Length: No longer than 10 pages in order to be considered. Submission: You must email your script to Women In Cinema at utwomenincinema@gmail.com Format: It would be easier if you emailed a PDF version of your script.
To have your script considered, you must be a member of Women in Cinema. To become a member, please click here. Current members must pay $10 every semester.
Please email us if you have any questions. And forward this to any friends you think might be interested.
After we get scripts, we will hold script readings and workshop sessions. Even if your an experienced screenwriter or a beginner, this is a great opportunity to make your script better.
Once we get scripts, Women in Cinema will be holding a reading and workshop with some professional screenwriters in attendance. As a group we will workshop the scripts, making them the best that they can be.
Script Reading and Workshop Thursday March 8 7-8:30 Location TBD
With screenwriter Cindy Mcreery in attendance.
After the scripts have been read and made better comes the most difficult part, making the decision of what we make. Instead of having the Women in Cinema officers decide, we're going to have a pitch off for the script, and the key crew positions. If someone wants to direct the short, she will need to have a short pitch or demonstration of what her vision is for the chosen script. If someone wants to be the Director of Photography, she will need to show the group her reel and have a short pitch or demonstration or her vision for the way the film will be shot.
Pitches and Crew Position Decision Day Thursday March 29 7-8:30 Location TBD
Once the key positions have been filled for the production, the rest will fall into place. Mark your calendars for the Summer Production Pre Production Meeting:
Thursday May 3 7-8:30 Location TBD
We have an exciting spring and summer to get ready for so don't miss your opportunity to submit your script and see it come to life.
Last week an exciting opportunity flittered across our feet. If you’ve been plugged in to film news lately, you’ve probably heard of the Slacker 2011 Film & Campaign. Esteemed filmmakers from all over Austin will each recreate a scene from Richard Linklater’s“Slacker” to “honor one of Texas’ best homegrown films” and campaign for the 2011 Texas Filmmakers Production Fund. In part with some of Austin’s finest filmmakers, Alamo Drafthouse, Austin Film Society and REEL Women, Reel Women Students will partake in this homage to the 20-yr-old classic with some of our own rising stars.
Thus far, we have Carlyn Hudson directing, Elizabeth “Beth” Chatelain producing, Sara Deuel editing and script supervising, Melodie Irvin and Jordan Harrison as Assistant Producers and Therese Tran as Director of Photography. Based on some plans made last night, we’re looking to begin production later this month and the creative plans are underway.
Slackers, we are not….
If you’re interested in partaking in this awesome experience, send us an owl, carrier pigeon or email us at reelwomenstudents@gmail.com or Elizabeth Chatelain echatela@gmail.com.
