Tribeca Enterprises, the company that also operates the Tribeca Film Festival, has teamed with Chanel to create a program that will support emerging women screenwriters and directors.
Dubbed Through Her Lens, the program offers support, including master classes and mentorship, for seven female filmmakers over three days of workshops this fall. The leadership committee for the first year of the program will include starry names such as actresses Julianne Moore and Rebecca Miller (who are among this year’s award jurors), writer-director Leslye Headland and producer Donna Gigliotti (as mentors); master class teachers Catherine Hardwicke and casting director Ellen Lewis, and industry advisors including Christine Vachon and Paula Weinstein, along with several other women attached to participate.
Presented in collaboration with Pulse Films and facilitated by the nonprofit Tribeca Film Institute, the first year of the program will finish with a pitch session before a jury that will decide which filmmaker will receive $75,000 in support of a short film project.
Tribeca’s new program launches as Hollywood has become increasingly aware of sexism and the gender gap in the movie industry. Earlier this year Hollywood’s hiring practices came under fire from the American Civil Liberties Union.
The seven filmmakers and projects to participate in this year’s Through Her Lens program have already been selected, with Numa Perrier, Roja Gashtili, Julia Lerman, Vera Miao, Anna Martemucci, Christina Voros and Kat Coiro all set for the inaugural edition, running Oct. 26-28.
