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12November

A Community Kick Off to Women's History Month

March 11th 2022
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11March

Film Fatales March Member Mixer

A Community Kick Off to Women's History Month

March 11th 2022

Thank you for joining us online for a community mixer to kick off Women’s History Month!

Members of Film Fatales and Chicana Director’s Initiative were invited to a virtual community mixer to kick off Women’s History Month!

This event was perfect for community members excited to meet creative collaborators or missing the company of like-minded artists. We began with a group discussion led by Film Fatales members Dewi Marquis and Donna Wheeler before dividing up into breakout circles for meaningful conversations based on a series of guided prompts. We talked about how to reclaim our identities and take up creative spaces and how to maintain our purpose as storytellers.

Details

Date:
March 11, 2022
Event Category:

Details

Date:
March 11, 2022
Event Category:

Panelists

Dewi Sungai Marquis is an Indigenous film director and editor based in Louisville, Colorado, on the traditional territory of 48 contemporary tribal nations including the Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Ute, and current home to members of approximately 100 tribal nations. She was born to a young Indonesian birth mother and descends from Orang Banjar, Baduy, Dayak, and Sunda to whom she attributes her Indigenous lineage, and an English birth father to whom she attributes her light-skinned privilege. She was adopted as an infant by white American parents who renamed her “Amy” and raised her in white suburbia, with multiple journeys back to Southeast Asia for her adoptive father’s work. She and her life+creative partner, Jason Houston, created their production company eight16 creative with the goal to center Indigenous voices, challenge dominant settler storytelling and colonial worldviews, and create art that inspires viewers to heal their relationships with the land and each other. They are currently in production on an art-forward body of work that explores Indigeneity lost, then reclaimed, as Dewi and other transracial adoptees break from their white communities and seek ancestral knowledge in an urgent call to address the climate crisis facing humanity. This project is the focus of her current fellowship at Cine Fe. Dewi is a member of A-Doc, BGDM, and Kin Theory, and has collaborated with a wide range of partners, including ProPublica and Exposure Labs.

Donna Bonilla Wheeler is a narrative director known for her crime comedy mockumentary, Death of a Saleswoman, which sold at Cannes, Berlinale, and AFM markets, and streams on U.S. and international platforms (iTunes, Amazon Prime, Roku, Youtube, Vimeo on Demand). She is one of 12 Finalists invited to MIPTV/Cannes 2020’s “In Development” Competition with her Indigenous/Latina adventure series, Clash. She continues as a Producer-to-Watch at MIPTV 2020-2023. Donna’s music-driven feature script, The Girl Next Door is a 2x Nicholl Semifinalist. The proof of concept short film has screened at over 55 international and U.S. festivals, receiving accolades in multiple categories. The feature is in development with Donna attached as director. She is also an experienced director and writer for major global brands, creating, leading, and executing commercial campaigns.

Community Partners

Film Fatales is a non profit arts organization which advocates for parity in the film industry and supports an inclusive community of over a thousand feature film and television directors of all marginalized genders. We raise the visibility of marginalized directors and expand the talent pool for decision makers looking to work with underrepresented voices. Together, we can build a more equitable industry for us all.

The mission of Chicana Director’s Initiative is to create a solid foundation of Latina Directors and Latina DPs and successfully immerse the members into sustainable careers in the entertainment industry with fair representation and equal pay.