Vivian Bowman-Edwards (founder of Alice Fest) and me at WUNC in Durham, N.C.
A few filmmakers were on WUNC’s The State of Things yesterday! We were invited to talk about Alice Fest, a festival featuring female filmmakers, and the state of women in film. It was an incredible experience.
If you missed the show live, you can listen to the conversation here. The folks at The State of Things do an incredible job. I want to be friends with all of them.
We were there talking about Alice Fest, which features female filmmakers. It starts this Sunday at 1:00 pm in the Full Frame Theater in the American Tobacco Historic District in Durham, N.C. As I mentioned earlier this week, two of my films will screen at the festival. (Read that blog post here.)
Vivan Bowman-Edwards, the creator of Alice Fest, has done a fabulous job fostering a strong community for female filmmakers. She’s been a huge inspiration to me since we met last year. I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to screen at Alice Fest and talk about my work on The State of Things.
During the conversation I mentioned Cate Blanchett’s recent Oscar acceptance speech. I tried to paraphrase it while we were on air. (Please forgive me, Cate.) I’d be remiss if I didn’t share her exact words here:
Thank you … for so bravely and intelligently distributing the film and to the audiences who went to see it. And perhaps those of us in the industry who are still foolishly clinging to the idea that female films with women at the center are niche experiences. They are not. Audiences want to see them and, in fact, they earn money. The world is round, people.
We want more women on screen and behind the scenes bringing us strong female characters. There’s good money in it. Audiences crave it. So, ladies and gentlemen, what are we waiting for, eh?
See you at Alice Fest this Sunday?