About Through Her Lens:
The Tribeca Chanel Women’s Filmmaker Program

 

 

Tribeca and CHANEL come together in support of women in film. Through Her Lens: The Tribeca CHANEL Women’s Filmmaker Program promotes emerging and independent voices. From funding and project support to dedicated mentorship, this multifaceted three-day program champions up-and-coming U.S.-based women and non-binary writers, directors and producers. With guidance from Tribeca, one of the country’s most engaged and respected supporters of women writers and directors, Through Her Lens helps foster these vital voices in their professional and artistic development. Over the course of the program, our mentors assist talent to refine and present their short film concepts to the film industry, and ultimately select one of their projects to fund and produce.

 

 

WORKSHOP AND FORUM

 

 

Tribeca and CHANEL are seeking the best emerging women and non-binary screenwriters and directors in the U.S. (eligible participants may identify as writers or writer/directors). Using a non-public nomination system from Tribeca’s extensive list of industry contacts and alumni, an internal committee will ultimately select five projects to attend. Filmmakers must have a production-ready script and be able to share at least one previous directing work. If you believe you are an eligible participant, please email your bio or résumé to THLSubmissions@tribecafilm.com.

 

 

Over the course of three days during the fall (September 20 - 22, 2022), finalists attend an empowering Workshop and Forum. Striking a balance between industry mentorship and artistic development, the Workshop and Forum will include hands-on consultation for each project, master classes, one-on-one as well as peer-to-peer sessions and an opportunity for industry networking. Workshops and master classes will cover a range of topics, including script-to-screen development, approaches to directing and producing, working with creative team members and more.

 

 

The Workshop and Forum will also be dedicated to helping the five participating projects hone their stories and concepts into succinct presentations. Script and pitch feedback will be provided to all projects from the mentors. Group sessions led by some of the boldest and brightest working women in the entertainment industry will provide relevance and balance between the individualized sessions.

 

 

Mentors and session leaders for the Workshop and Forum will include respected women filmmakers (writers, directors and producers) as well as talent working in front of and behind the camera. Previous mentors have included Kathryn Bigelow, Catherine Hardwicke, Stella Meghie, Rashida Jones, Anna Boden, Leslye Headland, Effie T. Brown, Celia D. Costas, Lydia Dean Pilcher, Donna Gigliotti, Emily Mortimer, Glenn Close, Rachel Morrison, Courteney Cox, Debra Granik, Christine Vachon, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Marti Noxon, Ilene Chaiken, Amma Asante, Veena Sud, Julie Taymor, Sarah Jessica Parker, Misha Green, Tina Mabry, Soo Hugh and a variety of other established filmmakers, producers and executives.

 

 

The Workshop and Forum will culminate on day three with the participants presenting their short film projects to a curated jury. The award recipient will be selected by the group of five to seven jurors based on the entire project: script, writer/director’s vision and succinct industry presentation of the idea.

 

 

The selected participant will receive an $80,000 grant to produce their short film, along with specialized guidance and mentorship from Tribeca to help the project reach its potential.

 

 

The additional four participants will each receive a $5,000 development prize to keep moving forward with their projects after the workshop. The mission is to support all of the filmmakers and projects in the program.

 

 

Through Her Lens: The Tribeca CHANEL Women’s Filmmaker Program will continue to provide support as the selected project wraps production and enters the marketplace.

 

 

Tribeca and CHANEL are committed to hosting Through Her Lens 2022 while prioritizing health and safety. All in-person receptions and workshops will be held in New York City in accordance with CDC, NY State and NYC Department of Health guidelines. Adhering to local and state guidelines as they are updated, Tribeca may require proof of vaccination and/or a negative COVID-19 test to attend. Final COVID-19 guidelines will be provided to all attendees ahead of the Through Her Lens 2022 workshop dates.

 

 

ELIGIBILITY

 

 

Projects are selected with the intention to support working filmmakers who identify as women or as non-binary. Eligible participants may be a writer/director or writer, and if the applicant is solely the writer, then a woman director must be attached to the submitted project. Participants are invited as teams of two, and that team may include a producer. Candidates should have made at least one short previous work in their area of focus. Directors who have completed a scripted feature are no longer eligible for this program. Through Her Lens has no restriction on genre, style, theme or project. Films must be able to be completed with an $80,000 budget. If you believe you are an eligible participant, please email your bio or résumé to THLSubmissions@tribecafilm.com.