Women In Film
By Bridget Graham Gungoren
It started as a meeting of the female minds. The year was 1973 and journalist Sue Cameron had just reported in The Hollywood Reporter that only two percent of all television scripts were written by women. So nine visionary women gathered with the hopes of creating an organization to empower, mentor and promote women within the film industry.
Thirty-three years later, Women In Film boasts more than forty chapters worldwide within eighteen countries, and more than ten thousand members.
Malibu’s own Candace Bowen serves as vice president of membership.
“It’s a very diverse group,” she said. “We have actors, writers, costume designers and more, all empowering each other.
The original nine women—Tichi Wilkerson Kassel, Marcia Borie, Norma Zarky, Zepha Bogert, Nancy Malone, Portia Nelson, Georgeanne Heller and Sue Cameron-understood the importance of programs to address not only professional, but social issues, crucial to women.
“Our mission is not women’s lib; our mission is for women to have a future,” Bowen said. “And it’s a mission, not a goal, to empower young girls through scholarship, mentoring and internships.”
WIF’s award-winning Public Service Announcement Production Program spotlights social issues that are deemed important to women. The PSA program has produced more than forty-five campaigns from breast cancer to drug abuse; it received recognition from the White House in the mid-nineties for a national education campaign.
The internship program provides funds for college-aged women from diverse backgrounds to work in different organizations within the industry. Sixteen young WIF members are chosen each year to participate in the mentoring program for a twelve-month period, where they learn the nature of the business from a female leader. This is all done on a volunteer basis.
“We couldn’t survive without volunteers,” Bowen said. “The volunteer is the most powerful human being on the planet. They move and change things.”
Volunteer and member, actress Betty Thomas, also a Malibu resident, became a part of WIF when she moved to Los Angeles in the seventies.
“I was looking for a way to network. In the beginning, I went to every single breakfast and lecture for three years. It was a connection specifically for women,” she said.
“I was able to buy a ticket to the awards, even though I was a nobody; I would see big people,” she continued.
The awards she refers to are the Crystal Awards, created in 1974 to honor women performing in or developing films that help shape culture, and the Lucy Awards, created in 1994 and named after comedian Lucille Ball, which recognizes women in television. Receiving Crystal Awards this past year were Sandra Bullock and her sister, Gesine Prado, for their production company’s work; and Jamie Foxx and his female support team of fourteen years, producer Jamie Rucker King and Nina Shaw. Comedians Debra Messing and Megan Mullally took home the Lucy Award.
Thomas, whose resume includes acting in hits like, “Hill Street Blues” and “Troop Beverly Hills;” producing “Charlie Angels;” and directing “Private Parts,” “Doctor Doolittle” and the soon-to-be-released “John Tucker Must Die,” starring Jesse Metcalf, Sophia Bush and Ashanti, is no longer a “nobody.”
And WIF still plays a part in her career. “I love being a member—it’s like no other place in the world. To this day, I still speak and attend. I read the newsletters; I have the phone contact lists. I give advice and want to give back,” she said.
“Maybe someday it [WIF] will be called people in film, but right now it is a great place for empowering women in the field,” she said with enthusiasm.
Until it can be called “People in film,” the organization does choose to honor men in the industry that promote the empowerment of women. There are several male members, and the Martini Shot Award was invented to celebrate men who are active in the mentoring process. Recent honorees include Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Danny De Vito.
Actually, several events invite people from throughout the entertainment world to support the organization, including Malibu’s Annual Women In Film Celebrity Golf Classic, headed by Bowen. The golf event, bringing out the likes of Jane Seymour and husband James Keach, Gary Sinise, Martin Sheen and Lou Gossett Jr., to name a few, raises funds for the many WIF programs.
“The fundraisers keep the programs going,” Bowen said. “Women are unique; if we don’t keep the doors open for the future, we’re no longer here.”
Bowen is an established independent producer who produces projects about women’s issues.
Her current project “Cuttin Da Mustard,” is about XXX
She is also at the helm of the WIF Malibu Networking breakfasts, which she started sixteen years ago. Over the years, guest speakers have included Malibu residents Linda Hamilton, Cher, Whoopi Goldberg and Eileen Penn (Sean Penn’s mother), among many others.
“It’s very established. We give advice, share experiences … these are things you can’t find in a book. It’s a networking opportunity,” Bowen said.
WIF member Corinne Bourdeau from Pacific Palisades also sees the value in women joining forces.
“What I have found is that it is a great way to meet people,” she said. “Networking is a word that is overused, but it is just that—it’s going out and meeting people.”
Bourdeau said the organization nourishes her because it not only supports her own educational processes, but it gives her a connection to support others. “It isn’t a direct business opportunity, it isn’t about finding or meeting clients, it is about building relationships.”
On many occasions, she and others attend a member’s play or film screening to cultivate that kinship.
Bourdeau, who was once an associate publisher at Los Angeles Magazine, now owns her own publicity and marketing firm that specializes in films that involve the genres of health, wellness and spirit. Her latest project, “The Celestine Prophecy,” is due to be released this year. She just finished teaching “Creating Your Own Yellow Brick Road” at UCLA Extension, with another WIF member, Pat O’Quinn.
“This was one of those amazing classes about creating nontraditional career paths,” Bourdeau said. “Something that I can relate to from creating my own firm, and being passionate about what I do.”
And passion seems to be the drive behind WIF.
“We have to concentrate on why, not what we do,” Bowen said.
At the end of October, an international summit was held in Los Angeles, providing educational seminars about the entertainment industry, to members from all over the globe. Aside from valuable advice handed out from top names in the field, the common thread in the panels was that women are talented and ambitious—and there is a place for them to succeed in the business. Working together, partaking in each other’s knowledge and building relationships opens doors and helps carve identities.
“Women are such a powerful force,” Bowen said. “We make a difference.”