It’s the secret that everybody in Hollywood knows about: Women are grossly underrepresented in the film industry. A new study from USC’s Annenberg School forCommunication and Journalism, as reported in the Los Angeles Times, makes it starkly clear: “Of the 100 top-grossing movies released last year, only five were directed by women. Men received nearly 87% of the screenwriting credits, and 79% of the producers were men.”
This year’s DTLA Film Festival was well represented by narrative and documentary features, short films and web series by women. Films by women also captured many of the festival’s major film awards, including Best Documentary Feature (The Pathological Optimist, directed by Miranda Bailey), Best Editing (Most Beautiful Island, directed by Ana Ansenio) and Best Cinematography (The Cloud Forest, directed by Monica Alvarez Franco), Best Ensemble Cast (Dog Park, directed by Jade Jenise Dixon), Audience Favorite Award (Dare To Be Different, directed by Ellen Goldfarb), and Best Short Film (Sing For Me, directed by Sama Waham). The festival’s Centerpiece Film, Lane 1974, was also directed by a woman, S.J. Chiro, and also nabbed the Best Actress award for Sophia Mitri Schloss.
“From the hundreds of submissions my team received and reviewed for this year’s festival, there can be no doubt whatsoever that women make great films. Festivals like ours provide a much needed showcase to demonstrate— to the public and industry alike — the high quality and wide diversity of films by women,” says Karolyne Sosa, DTLA Film Festival Programming Director.
Films By Women at the 2017 DTLA Film Festival:
Lane 1974, the 2017 Centerpiece Film
by S.J. Chiro, was among the dozens of films
by women that screened at this year’s fest.
Features
- The Cloud Forest, dir. Monica Alvarez Franco | Winner, Best Cinematography
- Dare to Be Different, dir. Ellen Goldfarb | Winner Audience Favorite Award
- Dog Park, dir. Jade Jenise Dixon | Winner, Best Ensemble Cast
- Here The Seats Are Vacant, dir Shiva Sanjari | Female Pioneer Award
- Lane 1974 | dir. S.J. Chiro | Winner, Best Actress In A Leading Role (Sophia Mitri Schloss); Centerpiece Film
- Most Beautiful Island, dir. Ana Asensio | Best Editing
- The Pathological Optimist, dir. Miranda Bailey | Best, Director – Documentary Feature
- This is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous | dir., Barbara Kopple
Shorts
- Across My Land, dir. Fiona Godivier
- Blua, dir. Carolina Charry Quintero
- Beautiful Figure, dir. Szép Alak Hajni Kis
- Camera Obscura, dir. Ashley Kron
- Don’t F With Me, dir. Fiona Percival
- F*#@k, dir. Nicole Danser
- Fertile Myrtle, dir. Julie Orser
- Frankie + Emma, dir. Emily Seale-Jones
- Goods, dir. Carla Villa-Lobos
- Hold On-Houvast, dir. Charlotte Scott-Wilson
- In Absentia, dir. Jessica Silvetti
- Laps, dir. Charlotte Wells
- Letting Go, dir. Nathalie Alvarez
- Lucia, Before and After, dir. Anu Valia
- Man Rots From The Head, dir. Janicza Bravo
- Mother of the Year, dir. Makena Costly
- Ophelia, dir. Julia Balayan
- One Week And Two Days, dir. Marwa Zein
- (Out)caste, dir. Shilpi Shikha Agrawal
- Rest In Peace, dir. Salma Amer
- Searching Skies, dir. Vivian Hua
- Sing For Me, dir. Sama Waham
- Sleeping with the Devil, dir. Alisa Yang
- Strings of Hope, dir. Eva Merz
- Xylophone, dir. Jennier Leonian
Webisodes
- Becca On Call, dir. Jenness Rouse
- Becoming Lucy, dir. Luisa Novo
- Crystal, dir. Crystal Correa
- Ctrl Alt Delete, dir. Margaret Katch & Roni Geva
- Dropping The Soap, dir. Ellie Kanner
- The Drunk Lonely Wives Club, dir Mary Lou Belli
- The Feminist Cooking Show, dir. Lauren Keating
- Life Coached, dir. Chloe Lenin
- Ocean Parkway, dir. Nicole Haran
- Ohni Case Files, dir. Aimee Galicia Torres
- Pot Luck, dir. Ness Simmons
- Undergrads, dir. Zoe Robyn