#leahmeyerhoff

It is great to see how more and more players in the industry jump on the band wagon to move toward equality for women in Hollywood. Thank you Indigenous Media!

"MADE BY WOMEN" INCUBATOR

AN OPEN LETTER FROM JON AVNET AND RODRIGO GARCIA

When it comes to women in Hollywood, the statistics aren’t pretty.   Women may be 51% of the population but they are an appalling minority when it comes to serving as directors or showrunners. In 2014, only 19 percent of the top shows had female showrunners and only 2 percent of the films were directed by women.

At Indigenous Media, we believe that diversity is crucial to good storytelling and we have always believed that enabling women to get their voices heard is also good business.

That’s why we are teaming up with some of the most successful women in the industry, as well as a coalition of female-oriented storytelling organizations, to launch an incubator aimed at producing dramatic series written and directed by women.

Our team of mentors includes Lesli Linka Glatter (Homeland), Kasi Lemmons (Eve's Bayou), Sarah Treem (The Affair), Betty Thomas (Private Parts) and Mimi Leder (The Leftovers).  They will be working hands-on with talented new filmmakers submitted by the PGA’s Women’s Impact Network (West), the Women’s Project Lab, the Alliance of Women Directors, Film Fatales, The Kilroys, Women In Film (Los Angeles) and The Lillys.

Indigenous Media will pair five female storytellers with established mentors. Each mentor will guide and encourage each new voice through the process of creating and bringing her project to life. For each pair, Indigenous Media will finance a short pilot, with the potential to produce and fund a full-length version. 

This is just the first step in bringing diversity back to storytelling. As we grow, so will the opportunities for new and undiscovered talent.

- Jon Avnet and Rodrigo Garcia -

MENTORS

Lesli Linka Glatter

Lesli Linka Glatter is a DGA Award winning, Oscar and Emmy-nominated director of film and premium television drama series. Lesli began her directing career through AFI's Directing Workshop for Women. Some of her most recent credits include Executive Producer/Director of Homeland and director of The Newsroom, The Walking Dead,Justified, Ray Donovan and Masters of Sex.

Betty Thomas

Betty Thomas is an Emmy-winning director and producer. Her film credits include The Brady Bunch Movie, 28 Days and Dr. Dolittle. She's currently finishing an Untitled Pilot for Disney.

Mimi Leder

Mimi Leder is an Emmy-winning director, producer and the first woman accepted to study cinematography at the American Film Institute. In 1997, Mimi directed DreamWorks' first theatrical release, The Peacemaker, and followed it the next year with another action hit, Deep Impact. Currently, Mimi is Executive Producer/Director of the HBO hit series, The Leftovers.

Kasi Lemmons

Kasi Lemmons is an actor and film director. In 1997, she wrote and directed her first feature film, Eve's Bayou, for which she won an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature as well an award for Outstanding Directorial Debut from the National Board of Review. Some of her other credits include The Caveman's Valentine, Talk to Me and Black Nativity.

Sarah Treem

Sarah Treem is a television creator-writer-producer and playwright known for incorporating many female roles into her work. Along with writing and producing for HBO's In Treatment and Netflix's House of Cards, Sarah is the creator, writer and executive producer for the Golden Globe-winning Showtime hitThe Affair.

ORGANIZATIONS

Alliance of Women Directors fosters a community of professionals to advance the art, craft and visibility of women directors in the world of film, television and new media.

Film Fatales is a global network of women filmmakers who meet regularly to mentor each other, share resources, collaborate on projects and build a supportive community in which to make their films.

The Kilroys are a gang of playwrights and producers in Los Angeles who are done talking about gender parity and are taking action. 

The Lilly Awards Foundation is a non-profit organization whose mission is to celebrate the work of women in the theater and promote gender parity at all levels of theatrical production.

Producers Guild of America, Women's Impact Network, West (PGA WIN West) provides education and access for female producers, as well as raising awareness through research and information-sharing with industry decision makers. 

Women in Film, Los Angeles, is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting equal opportunities for women, encouraging creative projects by women, and expanding and enhancing portrayals of women in all forms of global media.

Women's Project Theater Lab (WP Theater) supports female-identified theater artists and the world-class, groundbreaking work they create, and provides a platform where their voices can be heard and celebrated on the American stage.

HOW IT WORKS

Beginning February 17, Indigenous Media will team up with an esteemed group of mentors and a coalition of female-oriented storytelling organizations to launch an incubator aimed at producing a dramatic television series, created by women.

Each organization will hand select three candidates, and Indigenous Media will narrow down this list of candidates and assign them to the mentors. Based on the writing samples, each mentor will select a final candidate.