20th Annual Austin Film Festival

Austin Film Festival is back for its 20th year and we couldn’t be more excited for all the films, panels, and parties popping up around Austin over the next week.  There’s so many great folks coming to town and we’ve outlined (in no particular order) films with a female writer and/or director and female panelists who will be attending the festival.  Cheers to all you ladies out there!

FILMS

NARRATIVE FEATURE

Whoopi Goldberg (Director: HBO’S WHOOPI GOLDBERG PRESENTS MOMS MABLEY)

Maggie Kiley (Writer/Director: LIGHT YEARS)

Madellaine Paxson (Director: BLOOD PUNCH)

Tara Anaise (Writer/Director: DARK MOUNTAIN)

Hilary Brougher (Writer/Director: INNOCENCE)

Chelsea Hernandez (Director: THE ROAD TO LIVINGSTON)

Kelly Daniela Norris (Writer/Director: SOMBRAS DE AZUL)

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Alexandra Lescaze (Director: ALL OF ME)

Laura Waters Hinson (Director: DOG DAYS)

Maureen Judge (Director: LIVING DOLLS)

SHORTS

Holle Singer (Writer/Director: ABANDONED)

Jenny van den Broeke (Writer/Director: BLINDE LIEFDE)

Erica Harrison (Writer: A CAUTIONARY TAIL)

Wendy Dent (Writer/Director: DECEMBER 25)

Jessica Yu (Director: THE GUIDE)

Paola Morabito (Writer/Director: I’M THE ONE)

Janine Sides (Writer/Director: JODY’S BRA)

Grace Kim (Writer/Director: LUMIN)

Frances Poletti (Writer: MISS TODD)

Kristina Yee (Writer: MISS TODD)

Jing Yang (Writer/Director: MY SUPER VALENTINE)

Bracey Smith (Writer/Director: OUVERTURE)

Becca Friedman (Director: PAST THEIR PRIME)

Kate Marks (Writer/Director: PEARL WAS HERE)

Jennifer Suwak (Director: PULLING TEETH)

Jacqueline Christy (Writer/Director: REHEARSAL)

Sara Zandieh (Writer/Director: REZA HASSANI GOEST TO THE MALL)

Sarah Jean Kruchowski (Writer/Director: SPECIAL MOMENTS BY OKSANA)

Claire Winter (Director: TALENT SHOW)

Renee Felice Smith (Writer/Director: YOUNG(ISH))

PANELISTS

Callie Khouri (Screenwriter: THELMA & LOUISE)

Leslie Dixon (Screenwriter: MRS. DOUBTFIRE, HAIRSPRAY, LIMITLESS)

Jenji Kohan (Screenwriter: GILMORE GIRLS, SEX AND THE CITY, ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK)

Elaine May (Screenwriter/Director/Actress: TOOTSIE, THE BIRDCAGE)

Lindsey Doran (Producer: SENSE & SENSIBILITY)

Kelly Marcel (Screenwriter: currently writing FIFTY SHADES OF GREY)

Pamela Ribon (Screenwriter: SAMANTHA WHO?)

Terri Edda Miller (Screenwriter: DYSENCHANTED)

Maggie Malone (Director of Creative Development at Disney)

Diana Alvarez (Creative Executive at Larger than Life Productions)

Mary Coleman (Senior Development Executive at Pixar)

Issa Rae (Webisode creator: MISADVENTURES OF A BLACK GIRL)

Vanessa Taylor (Screenwriter: GAME OF THRONES, ALIAS)

Madellaine Paxson (Screenwriter)

Tara Anaise (Screenwriter)

Robin Swicord (Screenwriter: MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA, CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON)

Rachel Long (Screenwriter: DAWN PATROL)

Anne Rapp (Script Supervisor: ENDER’S GAME)

Carrie Gillogly (Director of Scripted Programming at AMC)

Nicole Yorkin (Executive Producer: THE KILLING)

Dawn Prestwich (Executive Producer: THE KILLING)

Sarah Burns (Screenwriter/Director: CENTRAL PARK FIVE, BIG SUR)

Jill Chamberlain (Screenwriter/Director: LIVING ON BORROWED TIME)

Lisa Kaselak (Media Artist)

Joanne Lammers (Director of the Writers Guild Foundation Archive)

Barbara Morgan (Austin Film Festival Co-Founder)

Kate O’Toole (Actress)

Kay Wolf (WGAW’s Independent Film Executive)

Laura Hinson

Elizabeth Mims

Barbara Twist (Conference Manager for the Art House Convergence)

Deena Kalai (Entertainment Lawyer)

Emily Mollenkopf (Creative Development Associate at Pixar Animation Studios)

Erika Weinstein (Manager of Scripted Programming at AMC)

Lisa Stuardi (Founder of Bright Spot Entertainment)

Melissa Breaux (Washington Square Arts)

Meta Valentic (Producer: URBANIA)

Emily Best (Founder of Seed & Spark)

Spring Edition: Camera, Sound, Lighting Workshop

The second weekend in February marks the spring edition of the Women In Cinema Camera, Sound, and Lighting Workshop.  This workshop is a great opportunity for all to refresh their film knowledge and network with others participating in the workshop.  So how do you get in on all the fun?  Simply email utwomenincinema@gmail.com to reserve your spot at this event.

DETAILS

Saturday, February 9th

10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

@ 701 Tillery St., Picturebox Studio

Facebook Event

Workshop costs $5 for Women In Cinema members and $15 for non-members.  Lunch provided at workshop.  If you need transportation to and from the workshop, please email to let us know.

PLEASE BRING:

-Gloves to handle lights (if you have them)

-Something to write notes on

-Do not wear open toed shoes

Can't wait to see all your lovely faces there!

Producing Panel

This month's Producing Panel features distinguished Austinite TV & Film Producers Rakeda Ervin, Caroline Connor, and Megan Gilbride.  These bad ass ladies will share their experiences and knowledge with us next week at our monthly panel.  Get to know our panelists below:

Rakeda L. Ervin has more than ten years of experience as a producer and director.  Her credits are with networks like A&E, NBC and MTV. She's worked on series like, VH1 Behind the Music, My First BET Awards, Shipping Wars and E! True Hollywood Story.  In addition, Rakeda has produced and directed short films and award winning independent documentaries. She is the first director to chronicle the politics of Generation X, through her documentary, X= A Generation Evolved.  Currently, Rakeda teaches video production with the Liberal Arts & Science Academy in Austin.


Caroline Connor has worked in the entertainment industry for the last  8 years.  She recently produced Chu and Blossom, which stars Alan Cumming, Mercedes Ruehl and Annie Potts.  She also co-produced LUV, which hits the theaters in November and Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best which is currently in theaters and on VOD through Oscilloscope. The films premiered, respectively, at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. She is in post-production on Pictures of Superheroes, which she Executive Produced. She has also served as Travel Coordinator on the films Stop Loss and Friday the 13th, and Production Coordinator for various films including Machete, Puncture,  Beneath The Darkness, and Seven Days in Utopia.

Megan Gilbride is an Independent Spirit Award nominated producer of narrative and documentary films.  She produced Bryan Poyser’s LOVERS OF HATE, which premiered in the US Dramatic Competition at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and was distributed by IFC.  A critical darling praised by the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and San Francisco Chronicle, LA Weekly’s Karina Longworth described the film as “the most exciting American indie I’ve seen in a while.”  

Collaborators since 2005, Megan produced Poyser’s short film, THE FICKLE, for the USA Network’s 2011 Character Project and is currently producing his romantic comedy feature, THE BOUNCEBACK.

Megan produced the documentary feature SUNSHINE which debuted on PBS’s Independent Lens in May 2010 and is currently playing educational venues as a means of expanding public discourse on teen pregnancy, adoption, abortion, and single-parenting in today’s society.  She associate produced Steve Collins’ GRETCHEN, winner of the Best Narrative Feature Award at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival, and Susan Youssef’s HABIBI, the story of star-crossed lovers in the Gaza strip, which was shot in Ramallah, Palestine.  The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2011, debuted in North America at the Toronto Film Festival and won four awards, including best picture and best actress at the Dubai International Film Festival.

Megan co-produced Heather Courtney’s Sundance Documentary Fund grantee and ITVS-funded feature, WHERE SOLDIERS COME FROM which won the Best Editing prize at the SXSW Film Festival and the Nokia Truer Than Fiction award at this year’s Film Independent Spirit Awards.  The film screened at the LA Film Festival, Silverdocs, Full Frame, BAM Cinemafest, Rooftop Films, and on Capitol Hill as sponsored by the Chief of Staff of the National Guard, General Craig McKinley, and Senator Carl Levin.  The story of three National Guardsmen from small-town Michigan who travel to Afghanistan and back, WHERE SOLDIERS COME FROM aired on PBS in a special Veteran’s Day presentation of the acclaimed series POV and was nominated for a 2012 Emmy Award.

Megan received a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature from The College of William and Mary and an MFA in Film Production from the University of Texas.

EVENT DETAILS
Monday, October 8
Women In Cinema Meeting 7:30-8 pm
Producing Panel 8-9:30 pm
CMA 3.120, Free Admission
Facebook Event

Women In Cinema Workshop Recap

Thanks to everyone who came to the Camera, Lighting, and Sound Workshop this Saturday at Picturebox studio.  We hope you found each session hands on, informative, and fun.  This workshop could not have been successful without our pro session leaders Renée Stairs (Sound), Roshan Murthy (Camera), and Britta Lundin (Lighting)!

Renée giving the low down on lav mics

Audio wiz, Renée Stairs, took us through the basics of production sound.  We learned about XLR cables, different types of cord connectors, the best way to grab audio for a live concert, and the always tough-and-awkward job of correctly wrapping up an XLR cable.  It takes practice y’all, it takes practice.

UT Student Yamel testing out the HMC150

In the camera department, UT RTF graduate student Roshan Murthy covered the basics of a Panasonic HMC150, a camera that UT students can check out on campus.  Although sometimes confusing, we learned how shutter speed and aperture and frames per second all relate to each other.  If there’s one thing to take away from this session, it’s to always white balance the camera yourself.  If you don’t, you will be crushed when looking at your footage in post.  So don’t forget to bring white paper on your shoot, it’s important!

Setting up a Fresnel 650 Light

The lighting session, taught by UT RTF graduate student Britta Lundin, talked through the basic characteristics of lights: Intensity, Temperature, and Hard vs Soft.  Using still shots from The Third Man, When Harry Met Sally, and Mad Men (if you haven’t ever watched this, you seriously must start immediately), we recreated the lighting from each scene.  One important thing to remember: you must pay attention to not only what you are lighting, but the shadows you are creating.

Thank you again to our session leaders and good luck with your future projects & thesis films! Don’t forget to mark your calendars for our next meeting and panel on October 8th.  More details to follow.  Also, if you’re not already part of our facebook group, do it now here.  You should probably also follow us on Twitter at @womenincinema.