Before looking ahead to the New Year, let’s take one last look back at the feature films directed by women in 2021. It’s an encouraging list assembled by the Women and Hollywood website team who “educates, advocates and agitates” for women in Hollywood.
Among the list is Maya Cozier whose short film, “Short Drop” was an official selection in CASCADIA’s first festival in 2017. At that time, Cozier was still a student at the School of Visual Arts in New York. Cozier’s first feature, “She Paradise” released in November, is now available on-demand and in select theaters. Watch the trailer for “Short Drop” here.
Also on the list is “Silent Night” by director Camille Griffin. Griffin trained in the camera department and worked for 13 years as a clapper loader. (Someone who is part of the film crew and who operates the clapperboard at the beginning of each take.) When asked in an interview with Women in Hollywood’s Mercedes Gonzales-Bazan, Griffin offered this advice to other women directors:
“Tell your stories and stand up for yourself, your voice, your vision, and whenever you can, support other women, support the unrepresented, share your good fortune, and don’t be greedy. Be respectful of how precious these opportunities are. Most importantly, train at your craft, don’t rush, don’t be impatient, which is my hardest lesson in life. Be good at what you do, study, prepare, and practice. Prove to everyone that women should be given a landscape to make films…”
Providing that landscape to showcase films directed by women is exactly what CASCADIA does as well as promoting and advocating for women directors. We’re currently selecting those films for the 2022 festival scheduled for May 12-15.