The fifth annual Through Her Lens: Tribeca Chanel Women’s Filmmaker Program, which provides mentorship and financing for female-led short film projects, kicks off Nov. 4-6 in New York. Presented by Chanel and Tribeca Enterprises, along with Pulse Films and Tribeca Film Institute, the program targets U.S.-based female writers and directors.
“Chanel was prescient and there right at the beginning when we created the program six years ago,” Paula Weinstein, CCO of Tribeca Enterprises and Tribeca Film Festival’s executive vp, told The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s no new secret that women have been underrepresented as directors and producers and have been paid less as actresses. So we applaud Chanel for having come in before it was a front-page issue and recognizing the importance of supporting women’s voices.”
To show their support, actress-directors Yara Shahidi and Phoebe Tonkin, both advisers to the program, have created videos (shared first exclusively with THR) in which they talk about their own experiences on both sides of the camera. On Monday, the five pairs of female filmmakers and projects selected for the 2019 program, along with this year’s master class leaders, mentors and jury members, were announced.