Part of the Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers film series

This survey of women’s lesser-known work in many genres includes action/adventure from Grace Cunard, comedy by Angela Murray Gibson, documentary by Zora Neale Hurston, and dramas from Ida May Park, Lule Warrenton, and Marion E. Wong.

Part of the Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers film series

This survey of women’s lesser-known work in many genres includes action/adventure from Grace Cunard, comedy by Angela Murray Gibson, documentary by Zora Neale Hurston, and dramas from Ida May Park, Lule Warrenton, and Marion E. Wong.

Part of the Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers series

As respected, popular, and, for a time, as highly paid, as D.W. Griffith and Cecil B. DeMille, Weber used complex storytelling and amazing technical breakthroughs to address the intricacies of social issues that are still relevant today. She also mentored other women filmmakers, such as Ida May Park and Lule Warrenton, whose work can be seen in next week’s Rediscovered Voices program.

Part of the Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers series

As respected, popular, and, for a time, as highly paid, as D.W. Griffith and Cecil B. DeMille, Weber used complex storytelling and amazing technical breakthroughs to address the intricacies of social issues that are still relevant today. She also mentored other women filmmakers, such as Ida May Park and Lule Warrenton, whose work can be seen in next week’s Rediscovered Voices program.

Part of the Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers series

According to Mack Sennett, for whom both parties worked, Charlie Chaplin learned to direct films from Mabel Normand. “[She] starred in at least 167 film shorts and 23 full-length features, mainly for Sennett’s Keystone Film Company, and was one of the earliest silent actors to function as her own director. She was also one of the first leading performers to appear on film without a previous background in the theatre (having begun her career in modeling), to be named in the title of her films…and to have her own studio (the ill-fated Mabel Normand Feature Film Company).” – Women Film Pioneers Project

Part of the Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers series

According to Mack Sennett, for whom both parties worked, Charlie Chaplin learned to direct films from Mabel Normand. “[She] starred in at least 167 film shorts and 23 full-length features, mainly for Sennett’s Keystone Film Company, and was one of the earliest silent actors to function as her own director. She was also one of the first leading performers to appear on film without a previous background in the theatre (having begun her career in modeling), to be named in the title of her films…and to have her own studio (the ill-fated Mabel Normand Feature Film Company).” – Women Film Pioneers Project

Following the 11/15 Screening of her groundbreaking film "The Feeling of Being Watched" at the Arab American National Museum, Director Assia Boundaoui will be present for an intimate discussion hosted at the museum's Annex space. The discussion will be moderated by Ava Ansari, and will center around the making of the film by an all female crew, and it's effectiveness in "reaching distanced audiences". A Q&A will follow. Coffee and light fare will be provided. 

When journalist Assia Boundaoui investigates rumors of surveillance in her Arab American neighborhood in Chicago, she uncovers one of the largest FBI terrorism probes conducted before 9/11 and reveals its enduring impact on the community.

The short films of Alice Guy Blache with live accompaniment by John Lauter. Part of the Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers series.

The short films of Alice Guy Blache with live accompaniment by John Lauter. Part of the Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers series.

Mid-day Movies with Final Girls. This is a special screening of films directed by women, 2 of which that represent this collective: “No Excuses: When A Trainer Needs A Trainer,” by director Tonya Core and “Candidly Speaking,” by director Tinisha Brugnone Additional films include “Eden,” by director, Ana Pio, “7 Planets,” by director, Milda Baginskaite and “Help Wanted,” by director Kennikki Jones-Jones. There will be a luncheon with Final Girls following the screening.

Final Girls co-founders Jasmine Rivera and Andrea Morningstar offer their “Big Idea: Taking Film Ideas from Impulse to Action” workshop as part of this year’s Traverse City Film Festival Film School.

Join the Detroit Film Theatre​ on June 20th at 7pm​ for an evening of short films by

internationally acclaimed Armenian-American artist Oksana Mirzoyan. The collection of work is

a celebration of her most recent narrative accomplishments created in Armenia and Detroit as a

2016 Kresge Fellow. Mirzoyan is a former refugee and immigrant with a personal narrative that

informs her work as a writer/director. She explores themes of poverty, gender/sexuality and

identity through the feminine gaze. Screening starts at 7pm with a Q&A immediately following,

hosted by Greg Baise. This is a free, public event in partnership with The Armenian Artist

Collective and Final Girls, a Detroit based female filmmaking collective.

You have a great idea for a narrative or documentary film, but you don`t know what to do next to make it a reality. In our session, we`ll put these ideas in writing by making a "treatment" and talk about the next steps we can talk towards making these ideas a reality. We`ll use screenwriting and production strategies to get our treatments into shape and share a treasure trove of tools for getting the resources you need to move the project forward. Everyone will leave with a treatment for their Big Idea in hand.

Join the Sundance Institute Creative Producing team and experienced feature film producers as they present a discussion on strategies for low- and micro-budget features, the role of the creative producer, and developing critical partnerships and audience engagement plans. We’ll also share best practices for building your professional network and sustaining your producing career.

The master class is FREE and attendance is first-come, first-served.

The Creative Producing Master Class is presented by Sundance Institute in collaboration with Cinetopia and Final Girls. This program is made possible by generous support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. For more information and to register please click here.

Directors of four in-progress documentaries, including Final Girls members Juanita Anderson and Andrea Claire Morningstar,  will be on hand to show off their work at this Works-in-Progress event, which is being co-presented by Facing Change: Documenting Detroit in partnership with Planet Ant Training Center.

At this free event, the filmmakers will talk about their movies, their filmmaking careers and offer short sneak peeks at their upcoming films. 

Join Final Girls Members Natasha Beste and Jenny Feterovich and others in this panel discussion at Nora Modern, where we’ll talk with filmmakers and artists about using an inherently contrived form to get at larger truths. 

Join Final Girls for a half-day boot camp on the fundamentals of turning your video journalism skills into a viable profession. Using case studies and a hands-on approach, we will uncover the process of getting work in both journalism and corporate doc-style or branded content from beginning to end.

What is it like to be a writer, director, storyteller, and woman in the film industry? How does the past, current, and potential future climate of filmmaking look for women working and teaching in the field? Join a panel of filmmakers as they discuss their experiences finding, creating, and telling stories.

Join guest artist Lily Baldwin and members of Detroit women's filmmaker collective Final Girls for a discussion about pushing the boundaries of storytelling, and, in particular, the ways in which VR can be used to engage your audience in new ways.

Searching for her roots, Asha returns to her family’s home on a rural coconut plantation in Trinidad. Despite racial taboos, her aunt’s admonitions, political turmoil and mysterious hauntings from ancestral spirits, Asha embarks on a forbidden relationship with Roger, a young fisherman who shares her desire to look beyond the physical world.