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It's Oscar
Time - Where are the Women?
The
Academy Awards ceremony is upon us, and once again, women's films
are completely absent.
There
are no Oscar nominations for a woman-directed film for Best Picture,
none for Best Director, or Best Original Screenplay. There is
only one woman in the Best Adapted Screenplay category, Julie
Delpy, who shares a credit with Richard Linklater and Ethan Hawke
for “Before Sunset.” Even the Best Foreign Language Film category
doesn't include any woman-directed films.
Women
do much better in the nominations for Best Documentary: “Tupac
Resurrection” is directed by Lauren
Lazin and Karolyn Ali; “Born Into Brothels” is co-directed
by Zana Briski; and “The Story of the
Weeping Camel” is co-directed by Byambasuren Davaa. (And Vicky
Jenson shares the director's billing for “Shark Tale,” a nominee
for Best Animated Feature Film.)
The
full list of Oscar nominees is at: www.oscars.com
The Same Old Story
When
Sofia Coppola was nominated last year for “Lost in Translation,”
she was only the third woman in history to be nominated
for Best Director. The other two were Lina Wertmuller
for “Seven Beauties” in 1977 and Jane Campion for “The Piano”
in 1994 - a total of three nominees in the entire 76-year history
of the awards!
No
woman of color has ever been nominated and no woman has ever won.
After last year's high-water mark -- eleven women directors or
writers won nominations for themselves or their stars -- this
year we're back to the same old, same old: women are practically
invisible.
In
2003, women directed fewer than 10% of the 250 top-grossing Hollywood
movies. More than 20% of the films released in 2003 did not employ
any women directors, executive producers, producers,
writers, cinematographers, or editors. You can read Martha Lauzen's
study, The Celluloid Ceiling: Behind-the-Scenes Employment
of Women in the Top 250 Films of 2003 in the Advocacy section
of our website at: www.WomenArts.org/advocacy/CelluloidCeiling2003.htm
Creating Our Own Success Stories
Sick
and tired of women's lives being all but invisible? We are! So
we're launching this newsletter to introduce you to real women
artists creating art that speaks to real women -- and real men,
too!
Since Hollywood is
not telling our stories, we decided to profile three women who
make highly personal films on issues such as aging, violence,
war, and racism. Sheila Margaret Sofian, Kagendo Murungi, and
Ruth Sergel spoke with The Fund for Women Artists about defining
success on their own terms, their drive to tell the true stories
of our experiences, and finding the right combination of perseverance,
encouragement, and cash to keep on making the films we need to
see. Click on the artists' pictures or this link to read
the interviews: www.WomenArts.org/news/Feb2005Interviews.htm
Thanks
to the support of the Valentine Foundation, the CDQ Charitable
Trust, the Women's Funding Network, and many generous individuals,
each month we will be profiling artists on the WomenArts Network
who are telling the stories of our times - stories of our inner
selves, our daily lives, and this troubled and inspiring world
we all call home. Please send your ideas for future themes
to our Associate Director Sarah Browning at browning@WomenArts.org.
This newsletter is for you!
What else can we do to help women
filmmakers and see eye-opening films?
Rent
movies made by women
For
a list of movies by women since
2000, go to:
www.moviesbywomen.com/moviesbywomenfilms.htm
You
can also rent great, hard-to-find movies by women from Women Make
Movies at
www.wmm.com, the premiere distributor of films
by women directors.
See a movie directed by a woman at a local
theatre.
You
can see a full list of movies that are in theatres now at: www.Womenarts.org/news/Feb
2005 Movies
Buy opening weekend tickets for films
by women.
Show
the big studios that there is an audience for films by women by
going as soon as they open! Find out what women's films are opening
by signing up for the First Weekenders newsletter at www.moviesbywomen.com
Find
Artists To Help Through the WomenArts Network!
Sheila
Margaret Sofian, Kagendo Murungi, and Ruth Sergel are just three
of the 150 filmmakers on the WomenArts Network. And more join
every day! Search the WomenArts Network at www.WomenArts.org
to discover filmmakers and other artists in your region who
are doing great work, then contact them directly to find out about
local events, works in progress, and ways you can help!
Spread the word!
Forward
this email to your friends and family. Many people don't even
realize that women's visions are missing from their movie screens.
Support The Fund for Women Artists!
Click
on the Donate
Now button below to support these newsletters and
the other free services of The Fund for Women Artists.
You
can also mail us a check at:
The
Fund for Women Artists
P.O. Box 60637
Florence, MA 01062
Email:
info@WomenArts.org
Phone: (413) 585-5968
About The Fund for Women Artists
The
Fund for Women Artists is a non-profit organization dedicated
to helping women artists get the resources they need to do their
creative work. There is an overview of our goals and services
in the Share
the Vision section of our website at www.WomenArts.org.
The
Fund for Women Artists is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation.
Federal Employer I.D. #04-3257661. All contributions are tax deductible
to the full extent of the law.
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