Spotlight | PANO

Welcome to Broadway Stages’ Spotlight, where we feature local shops, restaurants, organizations, individuals, and venues. We encourage our readers to join us in supporting these establishments and advancing local economic growth. For Women’s History Month, we are shining the spotlight on a few of the women-owned or oriented businesses and organizations in the neighborhoods where we work. This week, we want to share PANO. This network stands for and supports underrepresented women, non-binary, and gender nonconforming (GNC) creators in every aspect of the entertainment industry.

Cidney Hue is a writer-director in NYC who uses science fiction to build inclusive futures. In her work, she noticed that women were a minority in the entertainment industry, far out of proportion to their societal numbers. So, she took action.

“I was working at a commercial production company, and I felt like I wasn’t meeting enough women. And if I relied on just going on set and meeting that occasional one other or two other women, it would take me forever to meet a community of women that I wanted to work with. So I decided to host a little get-together. I ordered a few pizza pies, and that first time, 20 women showed up,” she said.

So, in 2015, she founded PANO (formerly NYC Women Filmmakers). The networking events grew as more women reached out to friends and colleagues. Today, the grassroots 501(c)(3) non-profit organization network includes over 6,000 members and has hosted over 150 free events.

They advocate for including and amplifying underrepresented women, non-binary, and gender nonconforming (GNC) creators of all trades, experiences, and backgrounds. They do this by connecting members with influential networks, valuable resources, and career-changing opportunities to impact meaningful change in the industry.

Membership in the network has several benefits. As you might expect in a networking organization, mentoring is particularly attractive. But PANO takes a nontraditional approach to mentoring. They have done away with the mentor and mentee titles and opted for an accessible approach inspired by successful mentorships. PANO Pairs are mutually beneficial experiences where partners support each other equally in their endeavors.

Another resource available to members is The Cinematographer’s Lab. This multi-week program is designed to help working and emerging cinematographers. To make this happen, Pano has partnered with AbelCine, a leading provider of products and services to the production, broadcast, and new media industries.

As any creator knows, funding is essential. So, PANO offers cash grants to support projects or professional development. Every year, PANO distributes cash microgrants and in-kind grants to support underrepresented filmmakers and their projects.

PANO makes it easy for other creators to boost inclusion on their projects by hosting a robust job board. They give employers the ability to post part-time and full-time positions and members the ability to be aware of what is available. It’s free to join to post crew calls, casting calls, and job listings.

Finally, it only makes sense for PANO to host virtual and in-person socials, workshops, and screenings to connect, educate, and amplify their members in New York and worldwide. You can view their events and screenings page for more information on what’s up next.

If you want to connect with a community of thousands of filmmakers experiencing gender marginalization, including women, trans, and gender-expansive creators, Click here to join PANO. Or, if you want to support the cause, your financial support is welcome! While you are at it, Follow PANO on Instagram and Facebook because something great is always happening.

The Bechdel test (also known as the Bechdel-Wallace test) measures the representation of women in film and other fiction. It asks whether a work features at least two female characters who have a conversation about something other than a man. Broadway Stages looks forward to the day when such a test is unnecessary. As productions grow to become places of inclusion, that day is on the horizon. We are glad PANO is striving to bring us closer to that reality.