The women of the Directors Guild of America (DGA) are forming a squad. The DGA’s Women’s Steering Committee has launched the Women’s Steering Committee Squad Mentorship Program (WSC Squad), a six-month program that will see established women directors mentoring mid-career female filmmakers, Variety reports. Debbie Allen, Kay Cannon, Nicole Kassell, and Claire Scanlon are among the first class’ mentors. Mentees include Kimmy Gatewood and Princess Monique.
“Mentors will not only discuss craft and artistic opportunities with their mentees, but will also provide guidance on the unique challenges involved with navigating the film industry as women,” the source details. The second round of the WSC Squad will kick off in January.
Amber Sealey, Maureen Bharoocha, and Daniela De Carlo serve as co-chairs of the program. Maria Burton, Hanelle Culpepper, Liz Ryan, and Tara Miele are co-chairs of the Women’s Steering Committee.
“We started this program because the need for mentorship and community never goes away, even when you are working at very high levels in the industry. Women-identifying directors deal with particular situations and it was our goal to forge a sort of sisterhood of mid-career directors,” Sealey said. “We purposely paired them with mentors who can offer advice in the specific areas they are interested in and who they have something in common with, even inspirationally. We are thrilled to have such an exciting inaugural group of mentees for this new official DGA mentorship program, and are so grateful to all of the extraordinary mentors who are graciously donating their time and expertise.”
Check out the inaugural WSC Squad mentors and mentees below, courtesy of Variety. Head over to the program’s website to find out more.
Debbie Allen mentoring Morenike Joela Evans
Julie Anne Robinson mentoring Pratibha Parmar
Kay Cannon mentoring Kimmy Gatewood
Tara Miele mentoring Annette Haywood-Carter
Millicent Shelton mentoring Princess Monique
Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton mentoring Jen Arnold
Kari Skogland mentoring SJ Main Muñoz
Nicole Kassell mentoring Mo Perkins
Marta Cunningham mentoring Li Lu
Claire Scanlon mentoring Sharon Everitt
