In Conversation with Patricia Vierya – About “Lady Filmakers” Film Festival
The film industry tends to be powered by men. However, today I am speaking to the founder of the film festival, “Lady Filmmakers”. She is making an impact on filming by giving women more opportunities in the film industry. Here is my q&a with the lovely Patricia DiSalvo Viayra.
David:
Hello Patricia, thank you for talking the time out to speak with me. Tell me what inspired you to start a film festival?
Patricia:
Hey David! Thank you for having me! Basically, after I made my first film and worked with a talented female DP I wondered why she wasn’t getting bigger jobs or working more consistently. With further examination I saw the staggering small percentage of women DPs working in Studio Films and TV and only a few percentage points more for women Directors. So that was the initial spark. It made us think of how we can help bring talented people together to get more industry attention. A rising tide raises all ships.
How do you go about selecting the films that you feature?
We focus on great storytelling above all else. Because we focus mostly on story it levels the playing field against bigger budget films. We love screening films from brilliant first-time filmmakers just as much as from seasoned filmmakers and everyone in between. The best storytellers get chosen. And from there we look for diversity and important causes or social issues that should be illuminated.
What are some struggles you face in producing the festival?
We could always use help with funding and exposure to continue to grow the festival and expand our resources for filmmakers and talent.
What is your ultimate goal for the festival?
We’re trying to break out rising stars and rising filmmakers. We’re confident that this festival and our new streaming platforms can achieve this with continued and expanded support from our audiences, increased sponsorship and industry professionals. We have a lot of talent coming through every year. We’d like to help them with their future projects and expand exhibition opportunities for them in more cities in addition to worldwide exposure on our channel.
What is the most rewarding part in producing the festival?
Happy filmmakers, smiling faces, seeing people connect and celebrate each other is very rewarding. It’s especially cool when people meet at our festival and then come back to us with their collaboration a couple years later! It’s also great when we get a film as a premiere or very early in the festival run and they win awards with us and then go on to just rock the festival circuit after. We feel almost like proud parents! LOL!
What do you think the film industry lacks?
Long term, sustained, proactive and genuine interest in diversity.
Have you ever produced a film or do you plan to produce any films?
Yes, I am a writer/director/producer. I have a few films under my belt including a feature. I have a couple of features in development and a fun short in post at the moment. So, as a filmmaker myself, I understand a lot of what other filmmakers go through and we approach our way of running the festival from the perspective of what we look for when we go to a film festival. How would we want to be treated? That informs a lot of our decisions. There’s a lot of respect for our filmmakers and talent.
Thank for your time. It was a pleasure speaking with you.
Thank you very much for having me and bringing attention to Lady Filmakers!
Photos are courtesy of “Lady Filmakers”
More information about Lady Filmakers
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