Tribeca Film Festival and Chanel have partnered once again for Through Her Lens: The Tribeca Chanel Women’s Filmmaker Program. A mentorship program “created to provide a balance of industry support, artistic development, and funding for new and emerging U.S.-based female writers and directors of short-form narrative films,” Through Her Lens 2018 will be held October 16-18 in New York City. Tribeca has also announced this year’s participants, mentors, and advisors.
Through Her Lens will see the selected filmmakers developing their projects with mentors and advisors. They will also attend master classes, participate in one-on-one mentoring sessions, meet distributors, and refine their pitching techniques.
On the last day of the program, each filmmaking team will pitch their projects to a jury featuring “Girls” creator Lena Dunham, “Dear White People” producer Effie Brown, Oscar-nominated “Mudbound” cinematographer Rachel Morrison, and “Grace and Frankie” producer Paula Weinstein. “One filmmaker will be awarded full financing to produce their short film, along with support from Tribeca Studios to make the project. The four other projects will each be awarded grant funds to continue developing their films,” a press release details.
The Through Her Lens mentors are Kathryn Bigelow, the only woman to win Best Director at the Oscars, “Friends” alumna Courteney Cox, “Everything, Everything” director Stella Meghie, “The Killing” creator Veena Sud, and “Carol” producer Christine Vachon. “Sharp Objects” creator Marti Noxon and “Claws” showrunner Janine Sherman Barrois are among the writing mentors, and the master class advisors include Morrison, “Leave No Trace” writer-director Debra Granik, and veteran casting director Ellen Chenoweth.
The selected filmmakers and their projects are: Francesca Mirabella and Kylah Benes-Trapp’s “H-E-A-T-H-E-R,” a portrait of a babysitter questioning her identity; Laramie Dennis’ space saga “Life on sMars,” produced by Jenna Cedicci; “Rosa,” a story about a woman sending undocumented bodies back to their homelands from writer-director Suha Araj and producer Maryam Keshavarz; Gabriella Moses’ “El Timbre de Su Voz,” a tale of a teen sex worker produced by Shruti Ganguly; and “What Is Your Soul Purpose?”, a drama about bereavement and unexpected connection from writer-director Jennifer Cho Suhr and producer Carolyn Mao.
“In the years since Tribeca launched Through Her Lens with Chanel, the program has created invaluable opportunities for the next generation of women storytellers,” said Paula Weinstein, EVP of Tribeca Enterprises. “The program brings established women filmmakers together to mentor these emerging voices, provide hands-on guidance and feedback, as well as fund their projects. We’re proud to help expand the pipeline for great inclusive storytelling.”
“TFI’s [Tribeca Film Institute] mission is to join with filmmakers in breaking barriers to access, exposure, and sustainability in the media landscape. The Tribeca Chanel program unequivocally aligns with our nonprofit’s goals to provide this level of meaningful support to women filmmakers of all kinds,” added Amy Hobby, Executive Director, TFI.
Last year’s Through Her Lens winner, Nikyatu Jusu’s “Suicide by Sunlight,” is currently in post-production.
The Through Her Lens 2018 filmmakers’ bios and their projects’ synopses are below, courtesy of Tribeca. You can find out more about the program by visiting the fest’s website.
H-E-A-T-H-E-R: Heather, a young, racially ambiguous artist, confronts questions of identity when she becomes a part-time babysitter for 11-year-old Jayda. Their dynamic prompts Heather to explore the limitations of her persona as she voyages into other realms of her imagination through fantasy, alternate realities, and moving collages.
Francesca Mirabella (Co-Writer, Co-Director)
Francesca Mirabella is a writer and director who received her MFA from the NYU Tisch Graduate Film program, where she attended as a Dean’s Fellow. Her shorts have screened at a range of festivals and were most recently featured at the Museum of Modern Art. In 2017, Mirabella won an NYU Wasserman Award for Best Screenplay. A 2017/18 Marcie Bloom Fellow, Mirabella is currently developing her feature Modern Love, which was awarded a Tribeca All Access® grant.
Kylah Benes-Trapp (Co-Writer, Co-Director)
Kylah Benes-Trapp is a visual artist from California currently based in New York City. She works primarily in digital illustration, photography and graphic design and has recently started writing for film. Her work explores ideas of self-expression, femininity, identity and nostalgia. Her purpose is to create a world of possibility through her work that will inspire discovery.
LIFE ON sMARS: Six aspiring astronauts are sealed inside a solar-powered dome, attempting to simulate life on Mars. When Dana’s helmet malfunctions on the first spacewalk — depriving her of precious oxygen — she and her teammates have a critical decision to make.
Laramie Dennis (Writer, Director)
Laramie Dennis attended Wesleyan University and spent 10 years in New York City developing and directing new plays before earning her MFA in Film and Television Production from USC. Her short films have screened at the Vancouver International Film Festival and Short Film Corner at Cannes and have also been presented and distributed by Boyish, Shorts International and Sprint. Her short-form animated series, The Golden Rule, is currently in production.
Jenna Cedicci (Producer)
Jenna Cedicci is an international feature film and commercial producer. She has developed and produced more than 75 commercials and five features to date, three slated for distribution in 2019: the documentary Fire on the Hill, a remake of the classic German film Nosferatu, and the narrative indie feature Daddy Issues.
ROSA: While working at her aunt’s flower shop, Rosa takes her job underground when she begins a side business of shipping undocumented bodies to their home countries for burial.
Suha Araj (Writer, Director)
Suha Araj creates films that explore the displacement of immigrant communities. The Cup Reader, shot in Palestine, screened at the Tribeca Film Festival and was awarded The Next Great Filmmaker Award at the Berkshire International Film Festival and Baghdad International Film Festival. Araj followed with Pioneer High in 2015. She has received support for her work from the Sundance Film Festival, TorinoFilmLab, Independent Filmmaker Project, Berlinale Talent Project Market, Center for Asian American Media and Cine Qua Non Lab.
Maryam Keshavarz (Producer)
Maryam Keshavarz is a writer, director and producer whose short The Day I Died won the Gold Teddy and Jury Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival. Keshavarz’s first feature, Circumstance, won the Sundance Film Festival’s Audience Award and was distributed theatrically by Participant Media and Roadside Attractions. Her sophomore feature — Viper Club, starring Susan Sarandon — world premiered at Toronto International Film Festival and hits theaters this month.
EL TIMBRE DE SU VOZ: Yaneris, a Dominican teenager, plots a way to escape her hometown of Sosúa, where becoming an escort seems to be her only fate. After unexpectedly falling in love with her client’s son, she decides he may be the ticket to a new life — for both her and her disabled sister.
Gabriella Moses (Writer, Director)
Gabriella Moses is director, writer, and production designer based in Brooklyn. She is a graduate of the NYU Tisch School of the Arts. She has received support for her work through the New York Women in Film & Television’s 2017 From Script to Pre-Production Workshop, Sundance Institute’s 2018 Screenwriters Intensive and 2018 TFI Network. Moses believes in sharing stories with underrepresented protagonists that push viewers’ perceptions of identity and imagination.
Shruti Ganguly (Producer)
Shruti Ganguly is a filmmaker and the founder of honto88. She has directed numerous videos and is a recovering media executive, with roles at MTV, Condé Nast/Vogue and more recently at NYLON as the Vice President of TV & Video. Her films have been screened at the Sundance Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, and AFI Fest. Ganguly hails from India by way of Oman.
WHAT IS YOUR SOUL PURPOSE?:
A sheltered Korean American family travels to Atlanta to retrieve the body of their son after he passes away from an accidental overdose. In the depths of their grief, they find an unlikely connection and momentary solace with the African American family who owns the mortuary.
Jennifer Cho Suhr (Writer/Director)
Jennifer Cho Suhr is a Brooklyn-based writer and director. She is developing her debut feature, You and Me Both, starring Constance Wu and selected for the Tribeca All Access® and Film Independent’s Producing Lab and Fast Track programs. Suhr earned her MFA from the NYU Tisch Graduate Film program, where she was awarded the Tisch Fellowship and a grant from the Spike Lee Film Production Fund.
Carolyn Mao (Producer)
Carolyn Mao is a Los Angeles-based producer and former development executive. Nice, a pilot she produced by creator Naomi Ko and director by Andrew Ahn, premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival. She is currently raising financing for You and Me Both. She is a fellow of Film Independent’s Project Involve, Producing Lab and Fast Track programs.
