“Gamechanger Films” Launches to Exclusively Finance Women-Directed Feature Films
Great news:
Mynette Louie Tapped as President, Founders include Julie Parker Benello, Dan Cogan, Geralyn Dreyfous and Wendy Ettinger
September 27, 2013, New York, NY — Gamechanger Films, a new company founded by Julie Parker Benello (Afternoon Delight, Pariah, Brooklyn Castle), Dan Cogan (Hell and Back Again, How to Survive a Plague, The Queen of Versailles), Geralyn Dreyfous (Born Into Brothels, The Invisible War, The Square) and Wendy Ettinger (Semper Fi: Always Faithful, The War Room, Eye of God), and led by producer Mynette Louie (Cold Comes the Night, California Solo, Children of Invention), who recently won the 2013 Independent Spirit Piaget Producers Award, launches today as the first for-profit film fund dedicated exclusively to financing narrative features directed by women. Producer Mary Jane Skalski (Very Good Girls, Win Win, The Visitor) will serve as the company’s senior adviser.
Gamechanger aims to shift the gender disparity in the film marketplace by tapping into the enormous existing talent pool of women filmmakers and providing the necessary financing to bring their work to movie-going audiences worldwide.
Women directors have been responsible for some of the most acclaimed and successful films of recent years, from Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty to Lisa Cholodenko’s The Kids Are All Right, and yet it remains difficult for women directors to access capital and secure equity financing for production.
Louie says, “An equal number of women and men graduate from the top film schools, but in the last four years, only 7% of the 250 top-grossing Hollywood films were directed by women — that’s a lower percentage of women than that found among Fortune 500 company boards, philosophy professors or aerospace engineers. Female-helmed projects are mistakenly perceived to lack commercial viability, and narrative film projects rely on a funding structure that is primarily operated by men. Gamechanger aims to increase the number of films by women in the marketplace by offering a dedicated financing option for them.”
Gamechanger will provide production financing and will serve as executive producer on a slate of narrative features. Films eligible for financing may be of any genre, but must be directed or co-directed by a woman. Preference will be given to projects with accomplished producers attached.
You may remember this analysis which shows that female writers have written only 1 out of 8 spec scripts sold from 1991–2012 which is in line with the stats regarding women directors.
You may also remember the name Mynette Louie from my recent interview with her. If you read it, you will realize Mynette is an awesome choice for this gig.
It’s one thing to try to raise awareness about diversity issues. That’s important. But it’s a whole other thing to put money behind an initiative like Gamechanger. That’s how things get done in Hollywood.
Kudos to the folks behind Gamechanger and best of luck!
For more on the Gamechanger announcement:
Go here for the Gamechanger website.
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