Every film in the program has at least 50% womxn filmmakers in leadership positions. The Festival does not define filmmaker as meaning only “director” -- in order to qualify, womxn filmmakers can be producers, editors, screenwriters, cinematographers, and more.
The women who make up the Nevertheless Film Festival team are all seasoned film and entertainment professionals.
Many of us are current or former staff of film festivals including Sundance, Tribeca, Telluride, DOC NYC, Mill Valley, New York Film Festival, and more.
The Annenberg Inclusion Initiative at USC, led by Dr. Stacy Smith, demonstrates why we need platforms like the Nevertheless Film Festival. The Initiative examines representation in front of and behind the camera as it relates to gender, race, sexual orientation, and disabilities.
Dr. Smith’s team also studies opportunities for people of color, the roles women and LGBTQ+ people have on screen, the trajectory of female filmmakers’ careers, and possible solutions to inequality in the industry (Dr. Smith invented the “inclusion rider” that Frances McDormand referenced in her 2018 Oscars speech!).
Among the 665 unique directors of the 1,100 most popular films released between 2007-2017, only 43 are female-identifying.
Only 10.1% of the screenwriters of the top grossing films of 2017 identify as female.
Across the 1,100 most popular films released between 2007-2017, just 7 were directed by women of color.
Of the 111 composers who worked on the top grossing films of 2017, only 1 is a woman.
There are a number of ways you can get involved with Nevertheless Film Festival! If your business or organization would like to officially partner with the festival, please send us an email! Have you heard about a great independent film that fits our guidelines? Let us know!
We’re not just doing it for the ‘gram - but our feed is pretty great!