About Us
Mission
According to the Guerrilla Girls, white men direct 80% of the top 40 on-going shows on television and only 4% of feature length films are directed by women. Of 839 writers employed on 95 TV shows in 1999, 6% were African American, 1% were Latino, 0.3% were Asian-American and none were Native American. In the history of the Academy awards since its inception in 1927, only three women have been nominated for achievement in Directing: Sofia Coppola in 2003 for LOST IN TRANSLATION, Jane Campion in 1993 for THE PIANO and Lina WertmŸller in 1976 for SEVEN BEAUTIES. As of yet, no woman has ever been honored as the winner of the Best Director Oscar.
The Women of Color Film Project's goal is to advance the position of women of color in film by fostering an environment that promotes creativity and diversity in a context of political and cultural understanding. Along with the Women of Color Film and Video Festival in Santa Cruz, CA and Through Her Eyes: Women of Color Film Festival in New York City, we are proud to be one of only 3 festivals of its kind in the nation. As a fully volunteer-run organization, all proceeds from the Women of Color Film Festival go directly back to the filmmakers and venues that made the festival possible in the first place.
History
The First Annual Women of Color Film and Video Festival occurred in November 1991. Originally organized by the radical Women of Color Film/Video Collective, past festivals have featured speakers such as Loni Ding, Pratibha Parmar, Celine Salazar Parrenas, Lourdes Portillo, Ruth Forman, Valerie Soe and Zeinabu Davis. In previous years, the film festival has explored a wide range of themes such as community, body image, sexuality, memory, healing, empowerment, spirit, borders, Diaspora and immigration.
In past years, we have collaborated with the Empowering Women of Color Conference held for the past 20 years on the UC Berkeley campus. We have been featured in Bay Area Business Women, as well as in the Daily Californian in 2003 and in 2005. Several filmmakers have been interviewed on KALX, 90.7fm as well as on KPFA, 94.1fm. Our filmmakers and curators have also been interviewed on Berkeley Community Media's Pass the Popcorn film review show.
Staff
The Women of Color Film Project is a non-profit, volunteer organization comprised of current UC Berkeley undergraduate and graduate students, alumni, and community members with the opportunity to become involved in all aspects of an independent film festival. We are always looking for volunteers and staff for upcoming festivals. You can reach any of the following staff members by emailing: wocfilmfest (at) gmail (dot) com.
