LOCAL Houston | The City Guide APRIL 2016 | Page 40

GISH AT THE MOVIES

THE YEARS ROLL BY FOR WOMEN IN FILM

Molly Vernon | Photography by Wayne Slater
Cynthia Neely | Photography by PDL Studios

Getting full representation for women in film both
on and off screen is an uphill battle because the
stats haven’t changed much since the WIFTI
women gathered in the 1970s. But members of
WIFT-H are doing their part, between advocating
for women’s work, networking among industry pros
and presenting ongoing workshops and talks. They
have monthly mixers and on Saturday, June 18,
WIFT-H is heading to Comicpalooza to present
“Claim Your Fame: The Emerging Female Hero
Tour,” a panel of six talented women in the entertainment field. Join WIFT-H and you’ll change the
way women are viewed in the world!

Karthika Mahadev | Submitted Photo

So why have an organization dedicated to
women in film and television? “You can’t be what
you can’t see,” as MARIAN WRIGHT EDELMAN said once
– a quote slathered across The Representation
Project’s website (www.therepresentationproject.org).
Women are underrepresented in films – making,
storytelling and starring – and the stats are dismal
as you can see in this Women Make Movies list
(www.wmm.com/resources/film_facts.shtml). In 2012,
women made up only 18% of those working in
film. Onscreen, only 11% of all clearly identifiable
protagonists were female and 78% were male.
And this year’s Academy Awards were deemed
racist by many but the treatment of women wasn’t
even a topic of discussion. It should be – in the 88
years of the ceremony, only four female filmmakers

Anita Long | Photography by Evan Thayer Studios

have been nominated for best director and only
one has won. And during this year’s Academy
Awards, 157 men were nominated for awards versus 50 women.

Jolene McMaster | Photography by Canterbury Photography

raderie and wisdom that has inspired people to
join, connect and grow. Filmmaker ANITA LONG is
currently the President, and both CYNTHIA NEELY and
JOLENE MCMASTER led the organization in years past.

Melody Moss | Submitted Photo

Last month celebrated the annual-but-little-known
“Women’s History Month” so it seems appropriate
to peer into our own backyard at an organization
that just celebrated twenty years in H-Town.
Women in Film and Television Houston/WIFTH
(www.wift-houston.org) was created in 1995 by a
group that included Founding President MELODY
MOSS and is part of the mother organization
Women in Film and Television International/WIFTI
(www.wifti.net) founded in Los Angeles in 1973.
WIFTI now boasts more than 35 chapters worldwide and a growing membership of over 10,000
women; and the Houston chapter has around 200
members, almost 20 of those being males, and all
of them from a variety of backgrounds including
college students, corporate members, film lovers
and fledgling filmmakers. New Board members
include music composer KARTHIKA MAHADEV and filmmaker MOLLY VERNON who told me, “WIFT has
helped me through networking – also the meetings
and workshops are educational.” It’s this cama-

WANT TO SEE MORE ART FILMS?
CHECK OUT THESE VENUES

40

L O C A L

| april 16

14 Pews (www.14pews.org)
Alamo Drafthouse (www.drafthouse.com)
Asia Society (www.asiasociety.org/texas)
Aurora Picture Show (www.aurorapictureshow.org)
Blaffer Art Museum (www.blafferartmuseum.org)
Café Brasil (www.cafe-brasil.net)
Contemporary Arts Museum (www.camh.org)
Discovery Green (www.discoverygreen.com)
DiverseWorks (www.diverseworks.org)
Holocaust Museum (www.hmh.org)
Jewish Community Center (www.erjcchouston.org)
Landmark River Oaks Theatre
(www.landmarktheatres.com)
Menil Collection (www.menil.org)
Miller Outdoor Theatre (www.milleroutdoortheatre.com B