While the number of women in film production has been inching upward, the number is still drastically disproportionate to society. Film festivals provide a unique opportunity for aspiring filmmakers to connect with industry professionals, fellow creators, and potential collaborators. Film festivals play a vital role in fostering new storytellers. So, the role of “gatekeeper” is pivotal. That is why we are proud to highlight a few enterprising women and the film festivals they founded.

Kweighbaye Kotee is the founder and CEO of the Bushwick Film Festival. Born in Liberia, West Africa, she moved to the U.S. during the Liberian civil war. In 2007, while studying Media, Culture, and Communications at NYU, she started the festival. Her desire was to share her love for indie film with others in the neighborhood and celebrate filmmakers. Also, she wanted to use the festival as a platform to help diversify the industry and connect people of all backgrounds through film.

She said, “The arts, for me, are one of the best ways to bring people together and build a community with people that you otherwise would think are different than you.”

The Chelsea Film Festival (CFF) was founded by Sonia Jean-Baptiste and her daughter, Ingrid Jean-Baptiste. The festival was born out of hardship. Just after Ingrid graduated from the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute, she was in a car accident that left her in a coma with a fractured spine. She said, “I like to use this phrase in moments of doubt or difficulty: ‘Gam Zou Letova,’ meaning ‘This too is for the best.’ Every challenging moment you find yourself into is for the best. It helps me remain optimistic about the future.”

In her time of healing, she had the idea to start the CFF in October of 2013 to discover upcoming talents by raising awareness about American and foreign independent films. Today, it is an international event with 100+ films every year. In 2019, it was voted one of North America’s Top 10 Best Film Festivals.

The Lower East Side Film Festival (LESFF) started in 2011 when filmmakers Shannon Walker and Damon Cardasis needed help finding a platform for films made on a low budget. Together with their friend Roxy Hunt and her husband Tony Castle (co-founders of BFD Productions), they came up with the idea for the LESFF. It started as a pop-up space in a little storefront with 30 folding chairs, a pull-down projector screen, and a popcorn machine in the back.

Roxy Hunt said, “It’s just important to have all different kinds of voices making the thing that you see on the screen so that you can potentially see a piece of yourself somewhere because when you see something that is relevant to you and feels like your story, you feel like you’re not alone. If there are more women who can tell stories that help other women feel less alone, that’s awesome.”

Broadway Stages loves that there are more women artists in cinema and that there are great outlets like these film festivals for their work to be seen. The TV and Film industry is on the path of inclusion and representation. And because of motivated women like Kweighbaye Kotee, Sonia and Ingrid Jean-Baptiste, Shannon Walker, and Roxy Hunt, the future is bright.

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The Women Behind Three Local Film Festivals