USC Women of Cinematic Arts

Saturday, February 11th, 2012
11:00am-5:00pm
at the Ray Stark Family Theatre, SCA 108
900 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007

Written by Genevieve Farrell
Directed by Mu Sun
Produced by Sloane Skala, Genevieve Farrell, and Mu Sun 

Straight-A student Angela Wright makes a rash decision to cheat on a math test, leading to a desperate altercation with her teacher.

Written by Kristi Uribes and Shannon Latimer
Directed by Kristi Uribes
Produced by Michael Greischar, Jessica Stephens, and Kristi Uribes

Love kept her in stitches.

Written by Jacqueline Franquelli
Directed by Lea W. Dizon
Produced by Alberto Belli, Christopher Caraballo, and Lea W. Dizon

In conservative 80's Manila, on the night of his engagement t his pregnant girlfriend, a series of crazy encounters causes a young man to wonder if the right thing to do is the wrong way to go.

Written by Jonathan Pope
Directed by Anna Elizabeth James
Produced by Barry Bogovich and Giles Clarke

On Halloween night, the new girl in school is given an offer she can't refuse.

Written by Joanna Cherensky
Directed by Michael Greischar
Produced by Joanna Cherensky and Michael Greischar

A geek meets his true love at speed dating.

Written and Directed by Andrew Aidman
Produced by Stephanie Rancier

Everyone's looking for something out of the ordinary.

Written by Kelly Lam, Cristina Malavenda, and Sean-Michael Smith
Directed by Cristina Malavenda
Produced by Maritte Go and Jin Yoo-Kim

You have to be better than the stars.

Written by Kimberly Hwang
Directed by Yuta Okamura
Produced by Vanessa Pantley and Kimberly Hwang

Only through death will one man remember life.

Written by Rob Turbousky
Directed by Monica Sender
Produced by Xiao Zheng

A broken heart can be charming

Produced and directed by Rebecca Haimowitz and Vaishali Sinha
Executive produced by Erin Heidenreich

Running time: 95 minutes

Made in India is a feature length documentary film about the human experiences behind the phenomena of "outsourcing" surrogate mothers to India. The film shows the journey of an infertile American couple, an Indian surrogate and the reproductive outsourcing business that brings them together. Weaving together these personal stories within the context of a growing international industry, Made in India explores a complicated clash of families in crisis, reproductive technology, and choice from a global perspective.


"The benefits and perils of medical tourism are amply illustrated...an engrossing feature." 
                                                                          - Variety

Winner, Grand Jury Award, Best Documentary Feature, Florida Film Festival

Winner, Best Feature Documentary, Magnolia Independent Film Festival

Winner, Jury Award, Best Documentary, San Francisco Int'l Asian American Film Festival

Visit the official website at: http://www.madeinindiamovie.com

Erin Heidenreich represented several Oscar winning & nominated films as one of the co-founders of Cinetic Media, a highly successful independent film sales and financing company. Films include LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (Fox Searchlight), BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE (United Artists), SUPER SIZE ME (Samuel Goldwyn Films/Roadside Attractions), NAPOLEON DYNAMITE (Fox Searchlight), CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS (Magnolia/HBO), JESUS CAMP (Magnolia/A&E), THE STATION AGENT (Miramax Films), WAKING LIFE (Fox Searchlight), amongst others. 

Erin is a film director with projects based out of China, Vietnam, India, The Democratic Republic of the Congo and the U.S. She has directed commercials and PSAs internationally and produced the award-winning documentary, MADE IN INDIA. Erin is in development on her first feature film and is in post on the documentary film TEARS OF RAGE and Ads for Ideas. Erin is a programmer for the Bali International Film Festival and freelances for Time Magazine's web portal. She has developed programs for young filmmakers in Indonesia and is a frequent speaker on panels at film festivals and universities. Erin began her career at Miramax and holds a B.S. in Communication Studies and Political Science from Northwestern University. 

  "In 2009, women comprised 16% of all directors, executive producers, producers, writers, cinematographers, and editors working on the top 250 domestic grossing films. This represents a decline of 3 percentage points from 2001." Excerpt from the annual Celluloid Ceiling report by Martha M. Lauzen, Ph.D, published by the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University.

The Women of Cinematic Arts (WCA) is a completely volunteer-run student and alumni organization. It was founded by USC students in 2005 as a networking group for USC students and alumni to increase cooperation among female classmates and address the specific challenges women face in the male dominated film industry. With a membership base of more than 800 women, the WCA’s outreach includes such events as the WCA Film Festival, individual, industry-specific panels and a listserv addressing networking, job/career placement, cast/crew recommendations and literary tracking.

The goal of the Women of Cinematic Arts Film Festival is to celebrate and support the achievements of female filmmakers, to feature female-driven movies and to promote a more equal playing field in the movie industry over-all. All USC alumni and students are eligible to apply.

Read about last year's festival:

http://cinema.usc.edu/news/article.cfm?id=9888

http://blogs.indiewire.com/womenandhollywood/guest_post_women_of_cinematic_arts_inaugural_film_festival_by_katherine_bow#