In 2024, Director of Photography Alicia Robbins became a major contributor to the Developing Filmmaker Fellowship, serving as a mentor to budding cinematographer Emma Forthofer, who is eager to follow in Alicia’s footsteps. Alicia holds the record for being the first female cinematographer to become a full time DP on a Shondaland series. She lensed […]

Questions by Idit Dvir, Developing Filmmaker / Fellowship Program Administrator ID: Do you have any thoughts on the importance of working writers mentoring females aspiring to succeed in their field? BC: My mom was a great writer, and an amazing storyteller with a wonderful way with words. When she was a kid, she was at

Deborah Pratt is a Director, Writer, Producer, Actress, and Women in Media Advisory Board MemberQuestions by Sayla U’ilani Whalen SW: You started as a performer. What inspired the expansion to work behind the camera? DP: Coming from a background of high school plays, summer stock, and college conservatory theater, I had my professional career break

Fellow Emma Forthofer is a native of Southwest Harbor Maine, whose love of nature led to her job at the National Park Service, documenting preservationists. She is working on translating her videography skills into a cinematography career in the narrative realm. Fellow Sayla U’ilani Whalen is from Livermore CA. She’s passionate about bringing portrayals of

Questions by: Emma Encinas, Women in Media volunteer and pre-entertainment law student. Emma has also written for Ms. Magazine and Water Inequity Network on Medium. Two time Emmy award-winning MARY LOU BELLI has been directing television for over 30 years. She was recently nominated for a Primetime Emmy for Comedy Directing as well as another

Ellen H. Schwartz has produced and contributed to some of the highest-grossing and beloved films of the past few decades. Schwartz began her career as a DGA trainee working in New York – one of the few women assuming such a role at the time. The first feature film she worked on as a trainee

Jeannine Oppewall grew up near Boston and moved to Los Angeles after college to work with the Office of Charles and Ray Eames; at that time the Eames Office was the pre-eminent design team of the United States, known for furniture, exhibitions and their many small personal films. Jeannine learned design at the feet of

A seasoned beauty makeup artist and prosthetics expert, Geneva Nash Morgan has worked on major feature films, TV shows, and live performances. With her cosmetology license and a BA in Technical Theater Design from California State University, Long Beach, she became an expert at wig-making, which was her way into the entertainment industry. Geneva was

An accomplished camera operator of 45 years with ten Emmy nominations and one win for Norman Lear and Jimmy Kimmel’s LIVE IN FRONT OF A STUDIO AUDIENCE: “Good Times” and “All in the Family” episodes. Helena’s many credits include the daytime dramas THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, GENERAL HOSPITAL, and DAYS OF OUR LIVES and

Written by Tema L. Staig What lead you to PR for the entertainment industry? The day after graduating UCLA in Communications Studies, I walked into the office of the only company I knew in the business, Cinema Products. I was hired as a secretary. I worked hard and learned about cameras, lenses, and all the