Empowering the Next Generation of Filmmakers

With a few notable exceptions (Insecure, anyone?), it’s not hard to turn on the TV and see a problem with media. According to research from the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, across 1,300 top films from 2007 to 2019, just 57 films (4.8%) were directed by women, and only 11 of those women were from “underrepresented racial/ethnic groups.” And while in 2019 the number of women directors in the 100 top-grossing films of the year hit an all-time high (12 women and 4 women of color: woohoo), we still have a lot of ground to cover.

In 2018, filmmaker Malakai wasn’t seeing herself represented in film and TV. With a background working in youth programming, she saw the perfect opportunity to expose young women and non-binary people, especially people of color like herself, to the craft, with the ultimate goal to increase representation in the industry. "I founded Made In Her Image because simply put, I didn't see myself,” Malakai said. 

Malakai and her team of volunteers hosted camps in Phoenix and Los Angeles, where female and non-binary filmmakers ages 8 to 18 were placed into small cohorts with professional mentors. Students were led through workshops on writing, directing, acting, producing and cinematography, and ended the weekend by creating a short film -- a short film that would later premiere at the renowned Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in Los Angeles, in front of their peers and invited industry professionals. Not only were student equipped with practical filmmaking tools and a film for their reels, but they were empowered by meeting female and non-binary filmmakers like themselves, and by gaining the confidence to call themselves directors, when this world does not. (A classic MIHI activity is having students proclaim aloud: “I’m a director!”).

What started as a handful of weekend camps in Phoenix and Los Angeles has now become an award-winning nonprofit with partnerships ranging from Ford to Disney. In MIHI’s current partnership with Panavision, the organization has expanded accessible education to young women and non-binary filmmakers up to age 25, most recently with an inaugural cohort of 25 students in the spring of 2021. These students were taught cinematography and editing by staff of the Panavision Group, and they got to ask questions and network with cinematographers, directors and producers in curated Mentorship Labs. These 25 students “graduated” from the cohort in June 2020, and are now ready to shoot the next generation of films.

With the pandemic, MIHI has adapted and expanded its virtual programming to reach young filmmakers across the country and the world and educate them on the fundamentals of storytelling and screenwriting, cinematography, and the business side of film and television. To learn more about MIHI’s summer 2021 programming, visit MadeInHerImage.org.

There’s still a long way to go, but Made In Her Image is educating and empowering the next generation of filmmakers, one young person at a time. 

By Kaelyn Timmins, Made In Her Image Community Manager

Photos courtesy of Made In Her Image