Alliance of Women Directors#Possible sources

The AWD works to support and promote the work, visibility, and professional development for female directors{{cite web|url=http://womenintvfilm.sdsu.edu/resources.html|title=Resources: Organizations Concerned with Women in Television and Film On-Line|publisher=Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, San Diego State University|access-date=April 3, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150328164210/http://womenintvfilm.sdsu.edu/resources.html|archive-date=2015-03-28|url-status=dead}} through a variety of programs including screenings,{{cite web|url=http://www.womenbehindthecamera.com/festivals.html|title=Festivals & Screenings|website=Women Behind the Camera|access-date=March 22, 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://filmguide.lafilmfest.com/tixSYS/2014/xslguide/eventnote.php?EventNumber=5044|title=Runoff|website=LA Film Festival|publisher=Film Independent|access-date=March 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402141437/http://filmguide.lafilmfest.com/tixSYS/2014/xslguide/eventnote.php?EventNumber=5044|archive-date=2015-04-02|url-status=dead}} educational events,{{cite web|url=http://www.citypulse.io/event/1944068/film-media-entertainment/general-assembly/new-models-of-distribution-panel/07-oct-14|title=New Models of Distribution Panel|website=City Pulse|access-date=April 3, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402135052/http://www.citypulse.io/event/1944068/film-media-entertainment/general-assembly/new-models-of-distribution-panel/07-oct-14|archive-date=2015-04-02|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.filmspecific.com/public/610.cfm |title=Alliance of Women Directors Film Festival & Distribution Seminar|website=Film Specific| access-date=March 22, 2015}}{{cite book|last1=Bollinger|first1=Lee|last2=O'Neill|first2=Carole|date=2008|title=Women in Media Careers: Success Despite the Odds|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y71-YCYv-48C|location=Lanham, Maryland|publisher=University Press of America|isbn=978-0-761-84133-3|access-date=March 20, 2015}} and industry parties{{cite web|url=http://womenandhollywood.com/2009/01/23/sundance-dispatch-a-celebration-of-women-filmmakers/|title=Sundance Dispatch: A Celebration of Women Filmmakers|last=Burton|first=Maria|website=Women and Hollywood|date=January 23, 2009|access-date=April 3, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402162639/http://womenandhollywood.com/2009/01/23/sundance-dispatch-a-celebration-of-women-filmmakers/|archive-date=April 2, 2015|url-status=dead}} both for their members,{{cite web|url=http://www.allianceofwomendirectors.org/#!page3/cee5|title=AWD Presents|publisher=Alliance of Women Directors|access-date=March 22, 2015|archive-date=April 4, 2015|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150404105643/http://www.allianceofwomendirectors.org/%23!page3/cee5|url-status=live}} and the general public.

The Alliance offers a "TV Shadowing Program" providing opportunities for new directors to learn from experienced directors at work. The AWD is a nominator for the Fox Global Directors Initiative{{cite web|title=Fox Global Directors Initiative|url=http://www.foxaudiencestrategy.com/directors/|website=Fox Audience Strategy|access-date=March 18, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150315083527/http://www.foxaudiencestrategy.com/directors/|archive-date=2015-03-15|url-status=dead}} and an allied organization of the Women Filmmakers Initiative.{{cite web|title=Exploring the Barriers and Opportunities for Independent Women Filmmakers|last1=Smith|first1=Stacy L.|last2=Pieper|first2=Katherine|last3=Choueiti|first3=Marc|url=http://annenberg.usc.edu/pages/~/media/MDSCI/Exploring-The-Barriers.ashx|publisher=USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism|access-date=March 18, 2015|archive-date=August 26, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826032925/http://annenberg.usc.edu/pages/~/media/MDSCI/Exploring-The-Barriers.ashx|url-status=live}}

The AWD helps its members make professional connections. In 2014, Maria Burton was hired as director of A Sort of Homecoming {{Cite web |url=http://www.asortofhomecoming.com/ |title=A Sort of Homecoming movie |access-date=2022-06-10 |archive-date=2021-06-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613192854/http://asortofhomecoming.com/ |url-status=dead }} when the film's producer consulted the AWD to find a suitable candidate.{{cite magazine|title=These Are the Best Unproduced Screenplays with Female Protagonists|last=Rothman|first=Lily|url=https://time.com/4975/athena-list-female-protagonists/|date=February 6, 2014|magazine=Time|access-date=March 20, 2015|archive-date=March 11, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311122354/https://time.com/4975/athena-list-female-protagonists/|url-status=live}} In 2008, Victoria Rose Sampson won a competition for her film, Need for Speed, after being notified about the contest via the Alliance.{{cite web|last=Harley|first=Bryan|url=http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/321/1955/Motorcycle-Article/H-D-Contest-Winners-Get-Hollywood-Debut.aspx|title=H-D Contest Winners Get Hollywood Debut|website=Motorcycle USA|date=December 16, 2008|access-date=April 3, 2015|archive-date=April 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402121713/http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/321/1955/Motorcycle-Article/H-D-Contest-Winners-Get-Hollywood-Debut.aspx|url-status=live}}

According to their press kit, the Alliance believes in "foster[ing] a community of professionals to advance the art, craft and visibility of women directors in the world of film, television and new media" and promotes the idea that it is "vital that stories are told from all perspectives".{{cite web|url=http://media.wix.com/ugd/b3f9a4_73ff9a1b991fe545f4123a5b0d890891.pdf|title=Press/Media Kit|publisher=Alliance of Women Directors|access-date=March 22, 2015}} Eleonore Dailly, co-chair of the AWD, in an interview with Elle magazine, described the group's goals as, "debunk[ing] this myth that there aren't enough female directors. There are highly trained female directors who can handle thrillers and action films just like male directors can handle romantic comedies."{{cite journal|last=Moss|first=Rebecca|url=http://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/news/a24941/summer-blockbusters-female-directors/|title=What Does a Female-Directed Blockbuster Look Like?|journal=Elle|date=June 30, 2014|access-date=March 18, 2015|archive-date=April 3, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403015315/http://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/news/a24941/summer-blockbusters-female-directors/|url-status=live}}

Director Maria Burton was the co-chair of the Alliance for six years. Describing the problem to the LA Daily News, Burton said "through all the years, through all the genres, in front and behind the camera, women are vastly underrepresented."{{cite news|url=http://www.dailynews.com/arts-and-entertainment/20150218/women-still-making-few-inroads-in-directing-field|title=Women still making few inroads in directing field|last=Lowman|first=Rob|date=February 18, 2015|work=Los Angeles Daily News|publisher=MediaNews Group|access-date=March 18, 2015|archive-date=March 24, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150324033313/http://www.dailynews.com/arts-and-entertainment/20150218/women-still-making-few-inroads-in-directing-field|url-status=live}} Speaking as an AWD board member, director Jacqui Barcos told The Huffington Post on the lack of women-directed films at Cannes, "complex dramas [...] tend to be difficult to finance in the U.S. If they are complex, the only way to get them financed is to have a big-name director, because then the investors are assured it'll be a masterpiece. And many of the most talented female directors are still relatively unproven, so investors don't want to take a chance."{{cite news|title=Cannes' Female Director Problem Highlighted By 2012 Selections|last=Satran|first=Joe|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/19/cannes-film-festival-female-director_n_1438632.html|date=April 19, 2015|website=The Huffington Post|access-date=March 18, 2015|archive-date=March 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150322042643/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/19/cannes-film-festival-female-director_n_1438632.html|url-status=live}} Similarly, Barcos told Variety that it was important to demonstrate that "a woman director can deliver a commercially successful film that is outside the romantic comedy ghetto".

Currently, AWD membership is over 250,{{cite news|title=Greg Berlanti, Ilene Chaiken to Be Honored by Alliance of Women Directors|first=Dave|last=McNary|url=https://variety.com/2016/film/news/greg-berlanti-ilene-chaiken-alliance-of-women-directors-1201741662/|work=Variety|date=30 March 2016|access-date=1 May 2016|archive-date=4 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160504215348/http://variety.com/2016/film/news/greg-berlanti-ilene-chaiken-alliance-of-women-directors-1201741662/|url-status=live}} including Eleonore Dailly, Judy Chaikin,{{cite book|url=http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/D/bo12323805.html|title=Directors: From Stage to Screen and Back Again |publisher=The University of Chicago Press|access-date=April 3, 2015}} director-producer Hilari Scarl, Alexis Krasilovsky, Jen McGowan, Debra Granik,{{cite web|url=http://www.allianceofwomendirectors.org/#!awd-members/cuc|title=Alliance of Women Directors Members|publisher=Alliance of Women Directors|access-date=March 18, 2015|archive-date=March 19, 2015|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150319184253/http://www.allianceofwomendirectors.org/%23!awd-members/cuc|url-status=live}} Mimi Leder, Betty Thomas, Bethany Rooney, and Lesli Linka Glatter. To qualify for AWD membership, an applicant must be a woman who has directed a publicly aired feature film, TV episode, TV movie, documentary, commercial, or short film. Members pay annual dues to support the group's work.{{cite web|url=http://www.allianceofwomendirectors.org/#!join/c7f0|title=Alliance of Women Directors - Join|publisher=Alliance of Women Directors|access-date=March 18, 2015|archive-date=June 2, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602171734/http://www.allianceofwomendirectors.org/#!join/c7f0|url-status=live}} The AWD is Chairperson, currently Jennifer Warren.{{cite web|url=https://www.allianceofwomendirectors.org/board-of-directors/|title=Alliance of Women Directors Board of Directors|publisher=Alliance of Women Directors|access-date=March 2, 2019}} It has a six-person board, a smaller advisory board, as well as honorary members and emeritus board members. In March 2019, the AWD board appointed AnnaLea Rawicz Arnold as its first executive director.{{cite news|url=https://www.thewrap.com/alliance-of-women-directors-annalea-rawicz-arnold-first-executive-director/|title=Alliance of Women Directors Names AnnaLea Rawicz Arnold as First Executive Director|last=Verhoeven|first=Beatrice|date=March 1, 2019|work=TheWrap|publisher=The Wrap News Inc.|access-date=March 1, 2019}}

On April 28, 2016, the AWD held its first Alliance of Women Directors Awards ceremony at the Paley Center for Media (Beverly Hills). Television producers Greg Berlanti (Arrow, Supergirl, The Flash) and Ilene Chaiken (Empire) were honored for expanding opportunities for women in directing and other behind the camera roles in the television industry.{{cite magazine|title=Arrow producer: 'Diversity is not a burden, it's just smart business'|first=Derek|last=Lawrence|url=https://www.ew.com/article/2016/04/29/greg-berlanti-ilene-chaiken-gender-equality-hollywood|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=29 April 2016|access-date=1 May 2016}} Producers Chiara Tilesi and Albert Berger of the We Do It Together foundation were also honored, and director Jen McGowan (Kelly & Cal) was awarded the AWD Breakout Award.{{cite news|title=A Call To Action As Chaiken, Berlanti Honored at Inaugural Alliance of Women Directors Awards|first=David|last=Robb|url=https://deadline.com/2016/04/alliance-of-women-directors-awards-ilene-chaiken-greg-berlanti-empire-supergirl-1201746390/|website=Deadline Hollywood|date=28 April 2016|access-date=1 May 2016|archive-date=30 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430222822/http://deadline.com/2016/04/alliance-of-women-directors-awards-ilene-chaiken-greg-berlanti-empire-supergirl-1201746390/|url-status=live}}

• List of female film and television directors

{{reflist|30em}}

• {{official website|http://www.allianceofwomendirectors.org/}}

Category:Film organizations in the United States

Category:Organizations established in 1997

Category:Professional associations based in the United States

Category:Women's film organizations