FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THROUGH HER LENS: THE TRIBECA CHANEL WOMEN’S FILMMAKER PROGRAM RETURNS FOR SIXTH YEAR WITH VIRTUAL PROGRAM

Mentorship program providing $100,000 in grants to emerging women filmmakers to offer new Masterclass Conversations open to the public

Leadership committee includes Annette Bening, Angelica Ross, Angela Bassett, Channing Dungey, Emilia Clarke, Glenn Close, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Kirsten Dunst, Lucy Boynton, Jessica Elbaum, Marti Noxon, Niki Caro, Uzo Aduba among others

NEW YORK, NY– October 7, 2019 – Tribeca and CHANEL affirm their commitment to creating new opportunities for women filmmakers with a virtual gathering for the sixth annual THROUGH HER LENS: The Tribeca CHANEL Women’s Filmmaker Program. Founded in 2015, presented by Tribeca and CHANEL in collaboration with Pulse Films, the mentorship program provides industry support, artistic development, and funding to emerging U.S. based self-identifying women and non-binary writers and directors. From October 13th through 15th, participants from around the globe will gather together online for a virtual program of workshops, masterclasses and peer-to-peer sessions.

NEW! Masterclass Conversations:
This year Tribeca and CHANEL will host a series of Masterclass Conversations. New to the program, Masterclass Conversations will offer virtual access to inspiring talks with leading women in film to aspiring filmmakers around the world.

Masterclass Conversations will include talks with actor/producer, Yara Shahidi in conversation with her business partner and mother, Keri Shahidi, discussing the business of film and setting your own career path. Cinematographers Rachel Morrsion and Ellen Kuras will exchange thoughts on visual storytelling and more.

Masterclass Conversations will air daily during the program October 13 - 15 at 1PM (ET) at www.tribecafilm.com/throughherlens

“THROUGH HER LENS brings together talented creators to support stories and the women who create them.” said Tribeca Enterprises and Tribeca Film Festival Co-Founder and CEO Jane Rosenthal. “Nurturing the next generation of women filmmakers is crucial work for our entire industry. This year, we’ve renewed our dedication to that work by pivoting to a virtual program that will immerse finalists in one-on-one mentorship sessions, as well as publicly-available Masterclass Conversations that will provide access and inspiration to film students and aspiring filmmakers.”

 

Five teams of women filmmakers have been selected this year to receive project support for their short narrative films. Based on overwhelming support of leading women in the industry, Tribeca and CHANEL have assembled a diverse range of leading voices who will come together in a safe virtual environment to lend their time and share their experiences with the finalists.

 

The three-day immersive program will feature virtual one-on-one mentorship, intimate participant masterclasses,around script-to-screen development, casting, music composition, costume design, producing, and directing. Connected through technology, participants will work with mentors to shape and refine their projects and pitches. At the conclusion of the program, each pair will pitch their projects to a jury of industry experts. One team will receive full financing to produce their short film with support from Tribeca Studios. The four other projects will be awarded grant funds to support their films’ development.

 

To date, past fully supported projects have achieved noteworthy successes including: A.V. Rockwell's Feathers (2016), which was acquired by Fox Searchlight after it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, and Nikyatu Jusu’s Suicide by Sunlight (2017), which premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. 2018's ROSA premiered at BlackStar Film Festival in August 2020 where it won Best Narrative Short. It is currently on the festival circuit. 2019 fully-funded recipient Hannah Peterson is in pre-production on her upcoming film CHAMP.

 

The 2020 Leadership Committee:

 

The 2020 Selected Projects and Filmmakers:

BENEDICTION: A broken woman’s search for solace lands her at a Baptist church in rural Mississippi, where an eerie encounter leads her to discover unsettling truths.

 

CUT LEAF: With the weight of a terminal diagnosis, Adeeba, a Pakistani mother, reckons with her own mortality by living vicariously through her daughter’s college experience.  

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