Fusion Film Festival

Celebrating women in TV, Film & New Media

Sundance Institute

Fusion Alums Lauren Ciaravalli and Misha Green Attend Sundance Institute’s Women In Film Finance Forum

On November 12th, 2013 the Sundance Institute held a one-day finance forum in Los Angeles with their allied partners of the Women in Films Initiative to give accomplished female writers, directors, and producers an overview of current film financing models. Through extensive panels on what investors search for in today’s market, case-studies on film financing successes, and training on how to garner confidence while raising money for a film, Sundance and WIF sought to challenge what they uncovered in their startling 2012 case study. The study, authored by Dr. Stacy L. Smith, analyzed over 30,000 data points over 11 years and concluded that independent narrative films rely almost entirely on a male-operated structure, female-helmed projects are perceived to lack commercial viability, and women are often viewed as lacking conviction when requesting film financing. The forum set out whole-heartedly to challenge these findings and the reflections and speeches given at the event by Ciaravalli and Green show the great strides female filmmakers are making in producing their own films and festivals at an early level.

Misha Green directed three well-received short films during her time at NYU Tisch and won the Fusion Film Festival competition for her short screenplay In Between Days. Misha went on the produce In Between Days as a digital short for Nylon Magazine, sign with CAA, and write and produce for multiple hit television series, including “Sons of Anarchy” and “Heroes.” Misha is currently working on adapting Colleen Curran’s “Whores on the Hill” as her directorial debut.

Lauren Ciaravalli graduated from Tisch just last year and was one of the co-directors of the Fusion Film Festival as well as a winner for her Sight & Sound film, Mrs. Sheridan, her short screenplay, Tryouts, and her TV pilot script, The Hilltop. She recently created and sold the dramedy web-series Max + Max for PetParents TV and completed her second short film, Dream Date.  Lauren now lives in Los Angeles as she begins her career in scripted television as an assistant at William Morris Endeavor Entertainment.

As a strong leader and participant in the festival, Lauren presented the mission and methods of Fusion to celebrate both the accomplishments of women in the film industry and foster collaboration of the sexes before the forum. Lauren thanked many of the female industry mavens in the room, particularly those from our mentors at the Nantucket Film Festival for supporting the growth of Fusion in our efforts to honor everything the Women in Films Initiative stands for.

By Danielle Massie

Fusion: A Proud Partner of Sundance Film Festival’s Women Filmmakers Initiative

Though undeniable strides have been made in the last 50 years in the realm of women’s rights, the film and television industry has unfortunately lagged behind. The Fusion Film Festival has teamed up with other film festivals and institutions to remedy this lag. There were a total of 3,879 feature films submitted to the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. Of those, a meager 16.9% listed female directors. Keri Putnam, the Executive Director of the Sundance Institute was quoted as saying “…What we’ve already found is that if statistics tell us a story, the story being told about women filmmakers today needs work.”

To combat this gender discrepancy, the Sundance Institute and Women in Film have partnered up in the hopes of promoting secure careers in the film field for women. The Women Filmmakers Initiative was thus born.

In getting The Women Filmmakers Initiative on its feet, the Sundance Institute collaborated with USC Annenberg by jointly researching the prevalence of women in the film industry. The Initiative has aligned with many other innovative partners such as the AFI Conservatory, Athena Film Festival, Paley Center for Media, PGA, and Women Make Movies among others. The chief aim for The Women Filmmakers Initiative in garnering information was to determine just what the first areas of concern to be addressed should be. In the end, four main goals for the 2012 year were stated as primary areas of focus: Mentorship, Finance Education, Training, and Access and Raising Awareness, and Facilitating Collaboration.

Women in Film and the Sundance Initiative hosted a one-day Forum on November 12, 2013 to provide female writers, directors, and producers in the film industry with current film financing models, information on what investors are seeking, and information on examples of properly financed films. The conference also provided information about how to have more confidence necessary when fundraising for a film project. Fusion’s Allied Partner status to the Initiative granted Fusion the opportunity to send a filmmaker/fellow to attend the Forum. Tisch UGFTV alum Misha Green attended in this position. Additionally Lauren Ciaravalli, a previous Fusion co-director, attended the Forum in the role of spokesperson and spoke about Fusion’s history at the Paley Center for New Media in Los Angeles.

As a part of The Women Filmmakers Initiative, various schools of status within the entertainment realms have been named Allied Partners of this initiative. As NYU’s very own Fusion Film Festival continues to grow, it has had the honor of being named an Allied Partner as another step towards gender equality in the film industry. Putnam has been quoted saying, “Sundance Institute has long believed in the value of diverse storytellers contributing to a vibrant culture.” Undoubtedly, this Mentorship Program is just another step closer to achieving the ultimate goal of diverse vibrancy in storytelling culture.

By Elizabeth Groth