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Jennifer Rainin and Michele Turnure-Salleo, photo by Erin Lubin
San Francisco, CA -- The San Francisco Film Society today announced the launch of the SFFS Women Filmmaker Fellowship, a new suite of services designed to support female writer/directors working on their second or third narrative feature through a combination of financial backing, innovative programs and events, mentorship services, industry connections and a growing community of fellow filmmakers. Inaugurated with the support of the Kenneth Rainin Foundation and facilitated by Filmmaker360, the Film Society's filmmaker services department, this fellowship program will provide direct assistance to an under-served group of storytellers and help to build sustainable careers for women filmmakers all over the world. The first Women Filmmaker Fellows, to be handpicked by Filmmaker360 staff, will be announced in April. An application period for subsequent Fellowships will open in winter 2016.
Participants in the SFFS Women Filmmaker Fellowship must working on a second or third English-language narrative feature screenplay, with an intended budget of no more than $3 million. They must have had a previous film premiere at a major international festival and priority will given to projects in the under-represented genres of science fiction, comedy, action, thriller and horror.
"Through our engagement with the growing Filmmaker360 community, we have come to understand the particular challenges for women filmmakers in obtaining financing, building networks and overcoming stereotypes, especially when embarking on a second feature film project," said Michele Turnure-Salleo, director of Filmmaker360. "While the independent arena is perhaps more supportive of first-time female directors than Hollywood and the commercial mainstream, we continue to find severe limitations in the opportunities provided to women seeking to build sustainable careers making narrative feature films. The SFFS Women Filmmaker Fellowship program is part of the Film Society's ongoing efforts to address that issue."
In 2013 and 2014, academic institutions such as the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California and the Center for Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State produced substantive reports on the state of women in the film industry, revealing startling statistics that point to drastic gender inequality. The latter group, for example, reports that in 2013, women accounted for just 6% of directors, 10% of writers, 15% of executive producers, 17% of editors and 3% of cinematographers. Additionally, women were found more likely to be working on romantic comedies, dramas or documentaries than the top-grossing genres of animation, sci-fi, action and horror.
"This is about supporting our most important emerging female filmmakers in telling the stories that they want to tell, on their terms," said Jennifer Rainin, CEO of the Kenneth Rainin Foundation. "With this initiative, we're working to reduce financial barriers, break down stereotypes, and build connections to increase opportunities for talented women and help their careers thrive. I am proud to contribute to the global effort to level the playing field and support strong female voices in the independent narrative feature sphere, and by providing the seed funding for this new SFFS initiative we hope to create greater balance in the years to come."
Designed to grow organically over time to include additional programs and events, the SFFS Women Filmmaker Fellowship will be seeking additional funding partners once the 2015 pilot phase has concluded.
SFFS WOMEN FILMMAKER FELLOWSHIPS
SFFS Women Filmmaker Fellowships will take place from April to October each year, overlapping with the Film Society's previously announced Producers Fellowship programs and the San Francisco International Film Festival (April 23-May 7). Program support includes:
* A $25,000-$40,000 cash grant, which must be used for living expenses. Individual amounts depend on place of residence and estimated travel costs to participate in Bay Area fellowship components.
* Placement in FilmHouse Residency program and access to all FilmHouse programs and activities.
* One-on-one consultation with film industry experts from the Bay Area and beyond regarding casting, financing, budgeting legal issues, distribution and other relevant topics.
* Weekly one-on-one consultation services provided by Filmmaker360 staff, with feedback on screenplays, verbal pitch strategies and written materials such as synopsis and treatment.
* Presentations and networking opportunities with Bay Area narrative filmmakers.
* Expenses covered for one 3-day networking trip with a Filmmaker360 staff member from San Francisco to Los Angeles, for meetings with established industry professionals.
Filmmaker360 has a strong track record for supporting innovative work by female writer/directors. Four out of six of the projects that received funding in the most recent round of SFFS / Kenneth Rainin Foundation Filmmaking Grants -- the Film Society's flagship grant program which has disbursed more than $2.8 million since its inception -- were written and directed by women. Additionally, four films supported by SFFS grants, residencies and fiscal sponsorship will have their world premieres at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival: Jennifer Phang's Advantageous, Jenni Olson's The Royal Road, Chloé Zhao's Songs My Brothers Taught Me and Kris Swanberg's Unexpected. For information about all Filmmaker360 support services, visit sffs.org/filmmaker360.
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Chatelin Bruno 
