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The sun set on a perfect fall evening in New York City as emerging writers, directors and producers mingled with industry giants in a rustic Greenwich Village penthouse. As hors d’oeuvres and a never-ending supply of
lemon water were passed around the room, the crowd awaited the announcement of this year’s Chanel x Tribeca Through Her Lens program which awards one team full financing to produce their short film.
For the past three days, entrants had taken part in workshops, one-on-one mentorship and industry conversations before culminating in a live pitch to a jury which this year included Halle Berry, Autumn Durald Arkapaw, Regina King, Ella Rubin and Meg Ryan. “[I] felt very confident that all these talented women will make, and should make these films,“ Arkpaw said to the crowd on Thursday night, but ultimately “one film touched us [as] the most as a compassionate, strong example of a story that is needed in our country right now.”
This year’s award went to writer and director Gem Little and producer Kseniya Yorsh for their short film “Cowards.”
Set on a summer day in 1999 Chicago, the winning film follows 11-year-old Diamond as she faces a rift with her best friend, forcing her to reckon with everything she’s been taught about toughness as a young girl. It’s a story near to Little’s heart, based on her own life experience. “Youth violence is a crucial issue, and we don’t often talk about it from the lens of young girls and how we’re taught to be tough as a survival mechanism,” she tells Variety. The past three days have transformed both her and Yorsh, not only as storytellers and filmmakers, but as women. As the pair head back to Los Angeles, they agree their biggest takeaway is “how important it is right now for us to have agency and autonomy over our own stories. Women tell the truth. I think we’re going to continue to do that.”
“I don’t think, as a woman, our first instinct is to fight,” Berry adds. “We’re very egalitarian. We’re nurturers of our families. More often than not, we’re willing to talk something out and find a peaceful resolution. That’s the difference between men and women. ‘Cowards’ beautifully expresses that.”
Through the deliberation process, Berry and the other jurors decided that “something had to be a definitive thought,” she saids, and they decided “a film on anti-violence, and a female way of dealing with violence was something that the world needs right now.”
“I’ll be honest: when I first got the materials, I was like, ‘Oh, there’s homework? I thought we were just going to hear the pitch,;” King jokes later in the evening. But hearing these stories and meeting the women telling them reminds her why she loves the business. Each team’s omnipresent individuality gives her hope. “At this age, you can definitely be jaded,” she laughs. “We’re all going to hell in a handbag.” It’s the new generation, “marching to the beat of their own drum,” that allows her to settle into the joy of filmmaking all over again.
I note that there’s something beautiful about being able to ground yourself in the future, in a good way, given the current news cycle. She corrects me: “In a great way.”
Emerging from the three-day experience, King says she’s taking off her blinders. “When you have experienced success, you can find yourself guilty of losing the peripheral. Having this experience reminds me that everything is not right in front of me.” This year’s mentors included Past Lives” and “Materialists” filmmaker Celine Song, playwright and filmmaker Aleshea Harris (“Is God Is”), producer Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, actress Fala Chen and “The Woman King” director Gina Prince-Bythewood.
Through it all, King thought about her next film as a director, grateful that her sister, Reina King, has been her filmmaking partner through it all. “That could be [us] in this room,” she smiles. “We’re still in rooms pitching like that.”
As the night comes to a close, Little stands across from me on the terrace and shares the words of wisdom Tribeca co-founder Jane Rosenthal imparted to the cohort earlier in the week. “You not only hold the door open for the women who are behind you, but you hold the door open for the women who are ahead of you as well. You never know. All of this stuff is a sliding scale.”
