Awards ceremony focuses on female filmmakers

The Women in Focus Awards promote equality in film by giving students funding for their thesis projects. Illustrated by Gaby Fantone

Bella Wadhwani, a junior creative producing major, believes the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts supports everyone regardless of gender. Still, she is no stranger to experiencing inequality on set.

“I was producing for a film and one of the crew members treated me differently than he treated men on the team,” she said. “I don’t know if he realized it or if it was just his personality, but I had to eventually work for his respect, which is frustrating, because most men have that respect automatically.”

While some students may believe the film community at Chapman is gender-inclusive, the behind-the-scenes reality is that Hollywood is still an industry filled with inequalities. Women comprised of 18 percent of all directors, writers, producers, editors and cinematographers of the top 250 films in 2017, according to a study by the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University. Only 9 percent of the top films that year had a female director, and in the history of the Academy Awards, only one woman has ever won the Academy Award for Best Director, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

“None of my male peers have to worry about going into a sexist industry where they have a high chance of being taken advantage of,” said Connie Ticho, a sophomore film production major. “I’ve been on sets at Chapman where boys will say something like, ‘Well, if that girl can do it, then you can.’ Being a women in a male-dominated industry is tough, and we need to teach young filmmakers about feminism in film.”

The conference includes a discussion and Q&A session with a panel of successful females in the film industry, a mixer event and ceremony for the award recipients. Panther Archives

For 19 years, Dodge has hosted the Women in Focus Conference and awards to promote equality in film. But this is the first conference since the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements arose in response to sexual harassment allegations against producer Harvey Weinstein, and other men in the industry.

“When Dodge College started the Women in Focus event nearly 20 years ago, the goal was to support a minority in the film industry so our students, the future generation of filmmakers, could aspire to make an impact in their careers,” said Marissa Ellena, a development coordinator for Dodge College.

The program provides students with awards for their thesis film projects.

Two producing students will receive the Entertainment Partners Excellence in Producing Award, one graduate student will receive the Meredith MacRae Memorial Award and up to four students will be given the Zonta Award.

“There are many awards that support different initiatives, students and projects, but it is important to the organizations that support these awards that they specifically support female filmmakers,” Ellena said. “We, as Dodge College, want to ensure that students are given the opportunity to make the film that they dream about.”

Ticho, who applied for a Women in Focus award, believes that the awards are important because the film industry should highlight women and their successes more often.

“We come to Dodge to learn and to be inspired by filmmakers, which includes women,” she said. “The film industry has been completely dominated by men. We need to empower and encourage feminism in the industry.”

Wadhwani applied for the awards because of the overall movement it supports, and to get funding for her thesis film, she said.

“The Women in Focus Awards, and having more female representation in the film industry, are steps in the right direction not only for Dodge and Chapman, but also for the industry” Wadhwani said.

Wadhwani produced a short film that was recently accepted into the Cannes Film Festival in France, which she will attend in May.
“The support I’ve received for that has been overwhelming,” she said. “Finding that niche and family has been incredible and that’s what Dodge offers for me.”

The Women in Focus Conference will take place April 20 in the Folino Theater at Marion Knott Studios.