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She Shot...

“If there’s specific resistance to women making movies, I just choose to ignore that as an obstacle for two reasons: I can’t change my gender, and I refuse to stop making movies.” -Kathryn Bigelow
Women in Film and Television, Victoria, have for a number of years now, been celebrating International Women's Day by showcasing women filmmakers/graduates from the different Film schools across Victoria.  Since its inception in 2013 with what started as a screening of women filmmaking students and graduates from the Victorian College of the Arts, it developed to present Swinburne University female filmmaking students and graduates in 2014, and Deakin University female filmmaking students and graduates in 2015.  This year, International Women's day will be celebrated at RMIT with female students/graduates from the School of Media and Communication.  The filmmakers and media collaborators that will be represented are as follows: 
Big Girl ( work in progress) - Sheersha Perera
Film Critics - Andrea Rassell
Goggles - Olivia Peniston-Bird
Hound - Georgia Kriss
Monzi - Paige de Vanny
New Arrival - Rusi Zhang
Rains May Fall - Laura Eldar
Reg Makes Contact- Corrie Chen
The Needy and the Greedy - Liz Burke
plus a script reading from Stayci Taylor
The event is on the 10th of March and it begins at 6:00 pm at the Kaleide Theatre, Building 8, Level 2, 360 Swanston Street, Melbourne.  The filmmakers will be present for a Q&A, hosted by Debi Enker, a film and Television Graduate from RMIT.  The cost is free.

 This has prompted WIFT Vic and Channel 31, with the help of Deakin University to create a one hour program with a selection of the short films that were screened at Deakin University in 2015.  The program is called She Shot... and it will air in Melbourne on Channel 31 on March the 7th at 9.30 pm and on Channel WTV Perth on March the 8th at 9.00 pm.  It will also be streamed across all of the Deakin University campuses on March the 11th at 10.30 am.

 There is a real need to showcase women filmmakers and support them within the institutions that they study in and acknowledge the careers that they have pursued within the film and television industry after their studies.  With only about 10 percent of women employed as directors on features or in television, it is important to raise awareness on the fact that women are making movies, and that they are great stories too.  The films that will be featured, some in their entirety, are as follows: Mr Wasinsky's Song, She, Microwave Minute, How to Desexualise a Woman, and Car Lady Bike Girl.  Nova Weedman, Sheersha Perera, Taryn Logan, Jessica Batsas and Maria Theodorakis will all be in the studio to chat about their films.  It has been an amazing experience to speak with all of the filmmakers about their work, inspirations, thoughts and careers.  The        more people that are exposed to the stories and the women filmmakers that create them, the more will acceptance rise across the board for their practice as filmmakers.  


A fantastic initiative has also been the formation of the She Shot FB Page, which has been used as a platform to bring to light all the crew that were involved in the making of She Shot.  All of the crew were women, bar the soundie, who was, however,  training a woman soundie.  A big thank you goes to: Margarita Olkhovsky, Supra Singh, Llewellyn Perrott, Shannon Biviano, Eleni Paras, Laura Douglas, Vanessa Gail Gustilo, Sarah Schonfelder, Zoe Hollingsworth, Dulce Amor Aguilar, Ally Gedik, Sarah Jayne Portelli, Chris Keogh, Vilash, and the women from WIFT Vic who helped above and beyond before and after the shoot.

 The crew is always such an integral part of the creation of any television episode or film that many times the faces and the people behind the camera are only ever mentioned in the credits.  Support them by joining the She Shot FB page.

 Another wonderful initiative that will occur on the She Shot FB page on the evening of March the 7th at 9.30 pm whilst She Shot... is aired on Channel 31 is that some of the members of the show will be on-line.  Great opportunity to have a chat with any questions.

This year the theme for International Women's Day is Pledge for Parity, parity in all aspects of society.  Join Women in Film and Television (Vic), Channel 31, WTV Perth, RMIT and Deakin University and help celebrate International Women's Day by participating in any one of the events that have been organised.  Women who make films will continue to ignore all obstacles, because, like Bigalow, women filmmakers can't change their gender and will not stop making films.  







Stella Dimadis
Vice President of WIFT (Vic)
Presenter on She Shot...






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