Spring Industry Panel (NU Women Filmmakers Alliance)

Who Are We?

The Northwestern University Women Filmmakers Alliance (NUWFA) is a student group dedicated to unifying, educating, and promoting women filmmakers—both at Northwestern and in the Chicago area more broadly. We promote the development of visual media created by women, aid women filmmakers in producing their visions, and encourage women’s involvement as leaders in the radio/television/film community at Northwestern.

What Are We Doing?

Every Spring Quarter, Northwestern University Women Filmmakers Alliance plans and presents a panel of several successful women in the entertainment industry. We feel that this year it is more important than ever for us to bring strong women to campus to discuss their experiences working in entertainment.

Previous panelists include writers, producers, directors, and managers from New York and Los Angeles. During a moderated discussion, panelists share their knowledge and experiences with Northwestern students and the local community. Audience members then get a chance to ask questions and mingle with the panelists.

We want to raise $2,000 to help fund our Spring Industry Panel. There are so many talented women in our community interested in working in entertainment once they graduate, and we want to give them the opportunity to hear from people who have successfully navigated the industry. Through the NUWFA Spring Industry Panel, our student group works to accomplish our mission of unifying, educating, and promoting women filmmakers.

Why Contribute?

NUWFA is at a crucial point as we take immense strides to promote women in the entertainment industry. We’ve determined that the only way to fully accomplish this mission is to bring inspiring women to our campus. Ideally, we will have three panelists, each of whom work in different areas of the entertainment industry and therefore bring many different viewpoints to the table.

We feel it is important to begin tackling the conversation of feminism in film during college. Most people are aware of the alarming gender disparities and forms of sexism in the film industry. In fact, the American Civil Liberties Union and other organizations are currently investigating gender discrimination within the entertainment industry. There are endless statistics that show the atrocious disparities in film (only four women filmmakers have been nominated for the award for best director in Academy Awards history), and there has been almost no change in these disparities in the past couple of decades, despite heavy media attention and efforts to fight inequality. As young women filmmakers who plan to break into this industry, we feel it is of utmost importance to band together and equip our peers with connections to successful women in the industry.