October 22nd, 2015

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW YORK, NY– October 22, 2015  –Today Tribeca Enterprises and CHANEL announced the launch of THROUGH HER LENS: The Tribeca Chanel Women's Filmmaker Program, a multi-faceted, three-day program designed to support emerging U.S.-based female writers and directors of short-form narrative films. The dynamic program, presented by Tribeca and CHANEL in collaboration with Pulse Films, and facilitated by Tribeca Film Institute (TFI), will discover and empower seven rising filmmakers with project support, master classes, one-on-one mentorship, and peer-to-peer sessions. The inaugural program, Oct 26-28, will culminate with a pitch presentation before a jury of industry experts where one filmmaker will be awarded $75,000 to make her film with the support of Pulse Films and Tribeca Digital Studios to produce the project.

Striking a balance between industry mentorship and artistic development, the pitch workshop and forum will cover a range of topics, including script to screen development, story structure, casting, finding collaborators, festival strategy and distribution. Participants will hone their stories and concepts in individualized sessions, attend master classes, and work towards a presentation of their projects.

The Leadership Committee for the inaugural year includes jurors: actor Patricia Clarkson (Learning To Drive, Pieces of April), director/writer Mary Harron (I Shot Andy Warhol, American Psycho), producer Mynette Louie (Land Ho!, The invitation), director/writer Rebecca Miller (Maggie’s Plan, The Private Lives Of Pippa Lee), actor Julianne Moore (Freeheld, Still Alice); mentors: writer/director Anna Boden (Mississippi Grind, Half Nelson) writer/producer Debora Cahn (“Vinyl”, “West Wing”), director/writer Leslye Headland (Bachelorette, Sleeping with Other People), producer Donna Gigliotti (Silver Linings Playbook, Shakespeare In Love), producer Riva Marker (Beasts of No Nation, The Kids Are All Right), actor/writer/producer Emily Mortimer (“Doll & Em”, Hugo); masterclass teachers: producer Celia Costas (“Angels In America”, Charlie Wilson’s War) director/writer Catherine Hardwicke (Miss you Already, Thirteen), casting director Ellen Lewis (“Boardwalk Empire”, The Wolf Of Wall Street), producer Lydia Pilcher (Darjeeling Limited, The Talented Mr. Ripley); as well as industry advisors

Selected projects and filmmakers:

JEZEBEL. Written by Numa Perrier
In the last days of her mother’s life, Tanya, a young woman, crashes with five family members in a Las Vegas studio apartment. In order to make ends meet, her sister introduces her to the world of internet cam girls.

Numa Perrier is a Haitian-born actress, writer, and filmmaker. Perrier co-founded Black&Sexy TV in 2011, home to several popular series, including “The Couple”, currently in development at HBO, and “RoomieLoverFriends” on BET.

THE LAST SHIFT. Written by Roja Gashtili and Julia Lerman
A young nurse grows obsessed with a locked door in the ward where she works, as a revolution unfolds beyond the hospital walls.

Roja Gashtili and Julia Lerman were 2014 fellows at AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women. Their short, RITA MAHTOUBIAN IS NOT A TERRORIST, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. The feature adaptation was selected for Sundance’s Creative Producing Labs.

MA. Written by Vera Miao
A seemingly “perfect” Chinese daughter, Mona loves her sternly loving Ma more than anything. But when a handsome neighbor moves in next door, Mona discovers just how far Ma will go to keep her home.

Vera Miao is an actor/filmmaker born to working class immigrants from Taiwan. Her first feature, BEST FRIENDS FOREVER, is an apocalyptic road trip story (Hulu/Amazon/iTunes and DVD). She’s excited about several, not-your-typical projects in development.

ONE CAMBODIAN FAMILY PLEASE FOR MY PLEASURE. Written by Anna Martemucci
A young mother living in the bleakest of American landscapes seeks to help a refugee family despite her own hardships and through her desire, reveals truths about herself, America, and the nature of the word "freedom."

Anna Martemucci is a filmmaker, writer, and actor. Her debut as a writer/director, the coming-of-age film HOLLIDAYSBURG, was unanimously praised by top film critics and its screenplay was honored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.

VALENTINE. Written by Christina Voros
A runaway girl encounters a stranger in the West Texas desert. They secrets they keep will change the course of their lives forever.

Christina Alexandra Voros is a Brooklyn and West Texas based writer, director, producer and cinematographer. Her film work has spanned the equally diverse worlds of fashion, medicine, horsemanship and pornography.

WIG SHOP. Written by Kat Coiro
"Wig Shop" is a dark comedy centered on an Orthodox Jewish woman who, over the course of getting her wigs styled, discovers that her African American hairdresser might be her husband's lover.  Based on the personal experiences of producer Jessica Neuman, the short explores a particular stretch of Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles where people from varied backgrounds co-exist, mingle and, sometimes, intertwine

Kat Coiro is currently developing a semi-autobiographical comedy for ABC and adapting a novel by Victor LaValle into a series. Kat has previously directed three theatrically released features, including Tribeca competitor WHILE WE WERE HERE.

For more than a decade, Tribeca has been dedicated to nurturing independent voices in storytelling, and in recent years has broadened its support of women filmmakers with awards such as the Nora Ephron Prize. THROUGH HER LENS: The Tribeca Chanel Women's Filmmaker Program continues this commitment to developing female artistic voices and providing resources to help them establish sustainable careers. TFI, the nonprofit affiliate of Tribeca, has supported female filmmakers through its cornerstone grant and mentorship program, Tribeca All Access®, since the organization’s inception. The program, now in its 13th year, supports scripted, documentary, and interactive storytellers from communities that are statistically underrepresented in the industry. Last year, four of the five scripted grantees of the program were female.

About Tribeca

Tribeca Enterprises is a diversified media company based in New York City. Established in 2003 by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff, the company currently operates a network of branded entertainment businesses including the Tribeca Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival International, and Tribeca Digital Studios. The Tribeca Film Festival is a diverse international film festival that supports emerging and established directors and also runs the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival. The company’s mission is to provide artists with unique platforms to expand the audience for their works and to broaden the access point for consumers to experience independent film and media. www.tribecafilm.com.

About CHANEL

CHANEL, the international luxury goods company, was founded in France by Gabrielle Chanel at the beginning of the last century. The company, which is privately held, offers a broad range of luxury products, including Ready-to-Wear, fragrance, cosmetics, leathergoods, accessories, fine jewelry and watches, through a U.S. network of 24 boutiques and approximately 91 locations at select retailers. CHANEL is also renowned for its Haute Couture collections presented in Paris. CHANEL maintains 190 fashion boutiques worldwide, including the legendary House of CHANEL on rue Cambon in Paris. Under the creative guidance of designer Karl Lagerfeld, the House of CHANEL remains dedicated to luxury, fashion, style and image.

CHANEL opened its very first watch boutique avenue Montaigne in 1987 for the launch of the Première watch. The boutique was then transferred to place Vendôme in 1990, displaying also from 1993 the new CHANEL Fine Jewelry creations. Since 1997, the flagship Watch and Fine Jewelry boutique sits at 18, place Vendôme. There are 12 boutiques featuring fine jewelry collections in the U.S. and 52 Watch and Fine Jewelry boutiques worldwide.

Editor note: Head shots of the selected women filmmakers can be downloaded here:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zxc1b1775utbyh6/AACrKb9Tdbg-BPGupIDADt1Da?dl=0

PRESS CONTACTS:
Tammie Rosen, Tribeca Enterprises, 212 941 2003, trosen@tribecaenterprises.com
Tahra Grant, Rubenstein Communications for Tribeca, 212 843 9213, tgrant@rubenstein.com
Annie Buck – CHANEL – 404- 771 – 8501 annie.buck@chanelusa.com

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