‘Film Fatale’ series screening at UCLA showcases female directors

Nine percent of directors of the top 250 grossing films released in 2015 were women, and out of 10 directors nominated for the 2016 Tony Awards, only one was a woman.

The “Film Fatale” series, screening at UCLA through May, is a reaction to the lack of female directorial representation in the film and theater industries.

The series is being organized by David Robert, the director of Melnitz Movies, a club that offers the UCLA community quarterly free screenings of films ranging from blockbusters to arthouse films.

As a graduate student in film production, Robert said he was inspired by a fellow co-worker’s creation of the “Film Fatales” group in New York City. Leah Meyerhoff, Robert’s friend and a director, founded the group in 2013 as a way to bring together women filmmakers to advise one another, share contacts and collaborate on projects.

“It’s very encouraging for a filmmaker when you have a group where you can actually talk about incentives or where to get your film funded,” Robert said.

Taking the principle of the “Film Fatales” group, Robert coordinated a series of films that highlight female directors.

The six-film series featured one of Leah Meyerhoff’s movies – a drama titled “I Believe in Unicorns” about a young woman who discovers the ups and downs of teenage love – on Tuesday. In a live Skype session, Meyerhoff elaborated on her desire to have a woman as the lead of her film, something she said she didn’t see enough of growing up.

Aspiring female directors at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television said they appreciate the initiative of the “Film Fatale” series. They believe the series will help highlight the underlying challenges they have faced as female directors.

Fourth-year theater student Ella Pravetz, who is directing the play “Proof,” which is set to open Saturday in Kerckhoff Grand Salon, recalled a multitude of obstacles she faced as a woman pursuing directing. For instance, she said she noticed gender discrimination when auditioning for the directing continuum, a theater department specialization with a series of classes that require auditions.

“None of the men were cut, but all of the people who were cut were women. That could be because women were a majority to start with, but there’s this kind of inherent discrimination in trying to even out the numbers,” Pravetz said.

Pravetz said she has also dealt with condescending responses from male actors when asking them to contribute to her projects. With approximately 70 percent of roles being tailored to men within the theater program, Pravetz said receiving patronizing responses was tiresome and frustrating.

As a newcomer in the directing program, first-year theater student Parker Whitlow found her passion for directing when she spearheaded the establishment of a theater program in middle school. However, Whitlow said she was aware of the challenges she will face as a woman in the theater industry.

“Since it’s easier for men, if a woman wants to be a director you have to be more driven or you’re not going to be successful because people will overlook you,” Whitlow said.

Robert said he hopes the “Film Fatale” series will serve to celebrate women in Hollywood and encourage the formation of groups like “Film Fatales,” to integrate women in the collaborative film and theater community.

“I want the dynamic to change, for the double standard to go away,” Robert said. “I think a filmmaker should be a filmmaker, regardless of whether it’s a man or a woman. I think a storyteller is at the end of the day just that, a storyteller.”