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TFF: Highlights from the Daring Women Summit

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Tribeca Film Festival 2016 presented the Daring Women Summit, a full day of presentations and panels from women who are transforming the work place and the world at large. Here are highlights from this landmark day

Creating Compelling Television That Resonates

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It’s no easy feat creating a television show that truly resonates with viewers. This all-female panel of media stars gathers for a discussion on the elements that make for good television, the importance of on-screen visibility for creating opportunities, as well the challenges they face getting their voices heard in a male-dominated business. 


Keli Goff, Journalist & Award-Winning Writer, ‎Being Mary Jane
Nahnatchka Khan, Showrunner, Fresh Off the Boat
Liz Meriwether, Creator and Executive Producer, New Girl
Julie Klausner, Creator/Executive Producer/Writer/Star, Difficult People
Moderator: Danielle Nussbaum, Senior West Coast Editor, Entertainment Weekly    

source: https://tribecafilm.com/filmguide/tribeca-talks-daring-women-summit-powered-by-the-list-2016

 

What an honor to hear this panel of women showrunners and award winning writers. Much of the discussion centered around the importance of having women in the writer’s room. Meriweather shared that on the first pilot she worked on, creating female characters who represented only one quality was the norm. “I remember trying to explain that the girl was smart and she enjoyed a great sex life and it was like “we don’t understand that.” Khan also shared a story about a show she worked on where the wife would do only two things: scream and hysterically cry. Klauser joked that it was all like Three’s Company. Women were just divided into only being one kind of person.  By putting more women in the writers’ room, female characters who are more well-rounded, dynamic and diverse end up on tv. Because these women are writing from their real lives, characters feel more relatable and have a wider range of experiences. Meriweather talked about how important it was to keep Jess dynamic and weird from the beginning and praised the network’s then producer for asserting New Girl always stay focused on presenting Jess authentically and as someone who had big energy that the other characters play off of.

When asked if these writers feel a responsibility to use their shows to talk about social issues it was a resounding yes. Klausner shared her show is unabashingly  feminist and she’s conscious of presenting that world view in every aspect of the show. She also loves taking traditional sitcom stereotypes and toying with them. In Difficult People she created a marriage where the husband is the supportive, quiet, passive one and she is the over-the-top one that he balances out.   Khan spoke about the unique opportunities her show provides. “We did a show about how everyone in the family got their American names. That’s a special story that hasn’t been really explored. Most shows it’s “I got my American name because I was born.” Goff shared Being Mary Jane received a Planned Parenthood Award. She feels a responsibility to her viewers. They have full time jobs and children.  They have that little chunk of time to sit back and take break. Goff uses that time to create compelling entertainment that also shares issues that are relevant and applicable to life.

It was a dream experience to hear the wisdom of these women highly accomplished in a field that’s notorious for shutting women out. Great shows will continue to come our way because these women (and many others) broke through the barriers.

Cracking the Code – Hollywood, Diversity and Computer Science

Google’s research tells us that media perceptions matter, they’re the primary drivers that motivate girls to pursue computer science, and Julie Ann Crommett leads a team at Google that is focused on changing those perceptions by dispelling stereotypes and showcasing positive portrayals of women and underrepresented minorities in tech. Julie Ann Crommett, Entertainment Industry Educator in Chief, Google    

Source: https://tribecafilm.com/filmguide/tribeca-talks-daring-women-summit-powered-by-the-list-2016

Tribeca+Daring+Women+Summit+2016+Tribeca+Film+-6Q2OkT3OsRxCrommett is spearheading initiatives that will shape the future of computer science. Because of the rise in technological development, the need for tech savvy professionals is growing at an unprecedented rate. When girls see female characters in media embracing science and having the skills to thrive in technological careers, it has a direct effect on their perception of the kinds of jobs they are free to pursue. Crommet’s department at Google is passionate about dispelling the idea that computer science is for the “really smart kids” and instead reframes it more accurately as a vocations with learnable skills for anyone interested in it. Her department also trains media corporations to look at where their blindspots are and where are they making assumptions about female characters that’s outdated.

Julie Ann shared some exciting specific projects she worked on that changed the perception of women relating to computer engineering. In The Fosters Mariana  is a dancer who learns code to create a dancing avatar of herself on stage. “She didn’t have to choose between coding and dance. It’s a “yes and” focus.” Also Code Girls, a documentary about a computer science competition for girls received 1million views in 5 days in it’s initial free viewing window on youtube. Google then made it available on Google Play. Crommet also announced the launch of The Black List competition, offering grants for scripts centered on changing the way computer science is portrayed in pop culture. Carla and her famous quote “I am not a woman engineer. I am an engineer” from HBO’s Silicon Valley was created thru interfacing with Crommet’s department.

 

Making Their Own Opportunities Online

The digital landscape has opened up opportunities for women to get their voices out there and put out their own interpretations of what they want to see.

Amy Emmerich, Chief Content Officer, Refinery29
Kathleen Grace, Chief Creative Officer, New Form Digital
Heben Nigatu, Co-Host, “Another Round”, Buzzfeed
Sophia Rossi, Co-Founder, HelloGiggles
Stephanie Laing, Founder, PYPO
Moderator: Lea Goldman, Executive Editor, Marie Claire

Source: https://tribecafilm.com/filmguide/tribeca-talks-daring-women-summit-powered-by-the-list-2016

 

The digital world is rapidly becoming the premiere place for high quality content by women. This was a lively discussion with many of the panelists chiming in on these exciting topics. I decided to distill the collective wisdom on this one.

Teenage girls are highly active online and consume tons of digital content. And, they are not getting what they need on more traditional media. Because of the lack of bureaucracy in the digital world, creators are able to upload content quickly without restrictions on what’s being shown. Much of the digital content is also run by young people open to diversity. Millennials don’t care whose creating the content as long as it’s authentic. Young women go online and tune into podcasts looking for people like themselves. They want windows into the real world and content they can share with their girl friends. Online creators have to be authentic to build an audience. The need for real people living their lives is incredibly attractive to teenagers who dislike highly regulated and over-produced content.

Because of the low barrier for entry, more diverse voices are able to be heard on digital platforms. And, because there isn’t a group of people deciding how certain topics are going to be portrayed, more authentic, raw, unfiltered stories are getting thru. This is vital for two reasons. People who have gone thru similar experiences feel less isolated. And, people who haven’t gone thru it are given an opportunity to process a story as it really happens, presented by the person who actually experienced it. This puts them inside the actual experience rather than a sanitized or editorial version of it, creating empathy and the ability to handle it better in real life if they come across it.

But, there are still issues of diversity. Nigatu shared she doesn’t feel this is the golden age of television for everybody. “Black communities still don’t have a show like Parenthood that just show average people living their everyday lives.” And white viral stars are still compensated better than anyone else, even if another star has a larger audience.

Comedy is by far the most popular genre digitally. Humor is a way into uncomfortable and taboo topics. Comedy opens the space to change the way we talk and think about difficult topics. Because digital landscapes aren’t controlled by content restrictions, it’s an essential platform for edgy comedy that breaks barriers in topics that are often restricted through traditional media streams. And, like Amy Poehler discovering Broad City online and producing it on Comedy Central, online entertainment is often the only place that artists have to present their ideas and get noticed. Also, the experimentation that’s allowed on digital platforms creates new way of presenting worn out subjects. All the fantastic creative cooking shows that can be found on Youtube is a great example. The Mindy Project is also a great example of network show run by a woman that moved to Hulu and now has less restrictions on content, making the show better received.

Passion is contagious. It’s entertaining watching someone geek out on a subject she’s really passionate about. It isn’t scripted or written with any aim in mind other than communicating pure unbridled enthusiasm. That kind of glee is something that people love to watch. And, it’s very easy for the enthuisants to create and share digitally. Also, someone with deep knowledge in a niche area can build a dedicated, life-long fan base digitally. A great example is Crafty Gemini, who quit her job as a paralegal to run her site full time. She doesn’t have millions of followers but those who do follow her are willing to pay for her knowledge

Lastly, digital spaces allow immediate feedback from viewers about what they enjoy the most, what they want more of, who they want to see interviews with, and what writers they are interested in hearing from. Because there’s such a direct relationship with viewers, it’s easier to quickly make content that will keep an audience engaged.

Clearly, the digital landscape is just beginning to pick up speed. It’s wonderful to know these incredible women are at the forefront.

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