Our Mission
Cinema Femme is a platform for emerging underrepresented filmmakers, which includes women and non-binary people. To support these filmmakers, we showcase their short films, provide education through featured interviews, and offer mentorship with seasoned filmmakers. We are vocal about the need for change onscreen and behind the lens. We believe that together we can change the industry for the better.
Highlighting the Underrepresented in Film
We feel it’s important to highlight female and non-binary people in film and to elevate their stories, their work, and what advice they have for our readers. Since we began in 2018, we’ve interviewed hundreds in film from all over the world, thanks to film festivals and international film media partnerships.
Some of our past interview subjects have included Lauren Greenfield, Hannah Beachler, Mary Harron, Deborah Kampmeier, Dawn Porter, Josephine Decker, Jennifer Reeder, Isabel Sandoval, Alice Waddington, and Penny Lane.
Short Film Festival
Our short film festival is an extension of our mission, and the people in film we feature (cinemafemme.com). We just finished our fourth installment of our festival taking place April 28 – May 1. The festival emphasizes gender diversity by elevating female and non-binary filmmakers by connecting them to seasoned industry members. The goal is for talented emerging filmmakers to have long-lasting, successful careers.
The festival emphasizes the importance of supporting emerging female and non-binary filmmakers by connecting them to seasoned industry members through our Breaking Down Walls Mentorship Program. The name of the mentorship program was inspired by our interview with Hannah Beachler in 2019 (embedded here). What we are doing through this mentorship program is breaking down walls in the industry and redesigning the institutions. Our 2023 mentors were Isabel Sandoval, Melora Walters, Stephanie Filo, and Julie Keck. 2024 mentors will be announced soon. Past mentors have been Deborah Kampmeier, Haroula Rose, Patricia Vidal Delgado, Laura Moss, Kate Hackett, Cecilia Albertini, Christine Swanson, Annette Davey, Jennifer Reeder, and Lisa Robinson. Our mentees have gone on to successful projects.
Included with the festival are our workshops, and panel discussions about important and relevant topics in the industry. Q&As and panels were led by Christina Raia, Bri Castellini, The Light Leaks, Chaz Ebert, and Nora Poggi. Our Tribute series has featured Jennifer Reeder, Dawn Porter, Isabel Sandoval, Kris Rey, Liz Cardenas, and a tribute screening for cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Our LIVE Q&A, Screenings, Film Discussion, and Panels
Every month we have LIVE events, screenings, filmmaker Q&A, film discussions, and panel discussions. You can find these LIVE events on our YouTube channel and Facebook page.
Our International Media Partnerships
We are proud to be media partners with Cineuropa. We believe cinema can make our world feel more united, and as Cinema Femme is a platform for championing female and non-binary people in film, we also like to shine a light on the exciting work that is being done outside of the US. Through Cineuropa we are able to widen our network and showcase interviews with women in the European film industry.
More international media partnerships to be announced.
Our roots
Cinema Femme began in 2018 as a community of female cinephiles who wrote love letters to cinema and the female and non-binary people a part of cinema, accompanied by illustration. In 2019 our essays and illustrations were inspired by “Black Panther,” “Strong Island,” “A League of Their Own,” “Clueless,” and other films.
