BAWIFT Wants to Hug You
by Liz Nord
Film/Tape World
September 2005

On the second Wednesday of every month, a support group of sorts gathers in a large San Francisco meeting room. The regulars recognize each other and say hello, and as the seats begin to fill, the curly-topped moderator of the evening’s events gently asks for folks who are new to the group to introduce themselves. Every month, one or two new people, usually timid at first, stand up and brave the curious eyes of the rest of the group.

“Hi,” they say, as the other people in the room wonder what exactly brought them there. The one thing that everyone gathered round knows for sure is that they have something in common. The person standing up and making their introduction has the same disease that has infected everyone there—the filmmaking bug. The shy “hello” is always greeted with appreciative nods and the introduction gains strength as the speaker goes on to say something to the effect of: “I moved here recently from L.A. where I was a Director of Photography. I am much more of a San Francisco person. Now, I am here and looking for work.” The rest of the group understands. By the end of the night, the aforementioned DP has most likely gathered a handful of business cards, a coffee date or two, and maybe even some advice about the most convenient laundromat in her neighborhood.

Doin' It For Themselves
The group, Bay Area Women in Film and TV, started four years ago with 12 members in a living room and now boasts a community of over 550 women who have tasted the pains and pleasures of “the industry” and just can’t get enough. The group’s founder and current vice-president, Liza Maine Seybold, describes her own desire, back in 2001, to connect with other women in her field.

“I was working as a freelance film and video editor in an Outer Mission studio. I often wished that I had a bunch of female filmmakers that I could bounce ideas off of, share rough cuts with or just talk to about filmmaking in the Bay.” From this desire, the group Cinema Chicks was born. The group, obviously filling a need shared by many, grew rapidly. As Seybold explains, “The circle of female filmmakers started at around 12 and then by word-of-mouth grew and grew until we had to find a new meeting space and elect a Board of Directors to help steer the group.”

One of the Board of Directors’ first tasks, as in many non-profits, was to come up with the core values that would drive the organization forward and help steer its future decisions. In addition to values regarding professional standards and furthering womens’ achievements in the field, the one that seems to attract the most women to those monthly meetings is this: “maintaining a supportive and collaborative community of women in the Bay Area.”

I know this is true for me, whose addiction to films and filmmaking began at an early age. I did not start to officially work in the industry until a few years ago, and after a young lifetime of hoping to get into the field, I was taken aback at what an isolating and truly unglamorous lifestyle it could be. My sense of relief and security was overwhelming at my first meeting, when I was able to stand in front of that group of fellow addicts and say loud and proud, “I’m Liz Nord, and I’m a filmmaker.”

Head-chick changes
The group has changed much since the living room days, most notably by transforming from Cinema Chicks into the internationally recognized Bay Area chapter of Women in Film and Television (BAWIFT). However, the core values created by the original Board of Directors remain the driving force behind the group today. The particular “supportive and collaborative for women” value does more than give the monthly meetings a subtle 12-step-program feeling. It also sets BAWIFT apart from other local film organizations. Many members cross-pollinate the Film Arts Foundation or the Bay Area Video Coalition, for instance, but they remain active in BAWIFT.

Liza Maine Seybold’s theory is this: “While these other film organizations are Bay Area treasures and nurture the media making community on the whole, I feel sometimes during seminars that women hold back from asking questions because they are afraid of being judged by the other (male) students - kind of like a flash-back to high school.”

She continues, “The BAWIFT community is a place where there are no stupid questions. You can come as you are and will feel welcome. Whether you have been making films for 2 months or 20 years, you will be treated with respect and as a filmmaker.”

There are certainly plenty of opportunities for asking “no stupid questions” at BAWIFT, where the monthly panels include a wide range of topics necessary to equip your average filmmaking member: from the annual “Legal Eagles” panel, covering pertinent legal topics such as music rights, to panels on film festivals and distribution. A few times a year, BAWIFT invites special guests to speak at the monthly meetings, giving its members intimate exposure to influential and inspiring women in the industry. Such speakers have included Stephanie Pleet Coyote, Executive Director of the San Francisco Film Commission, and Janet Peoples, Screenwriter and Producer of such Hollywood hits as 12 Monkeys.

In the interest of creating a supportive environment for learning, BAWIFT has also recently begun offering low-priced technical workshops for women, such as a series of hands-on audio seminars given by female engineer, Dana J. Labrecque, of Potrero Post. The most recent BAWIFT membership offering along these lines is The Exchange; a mentorship program wherein members are given assistance in soliciting experienced female mentors in their chosen area of the field. In an impressive testament to the niche BAWIFT has carved for itself in the local community, the mentors, workshop leaders, and panelists are all volunteers. In fact, BAWIFT is entirely volunteer-run by an elected Board of Directors and a network of chairwomen and other women eager to give an occasional hand.

Then and Now
Karil Daniels, one of BAWIFT’s volunteer board members, speaks to what attracts industry veterans like her to donate their time and skills to the organization. Like Seybold, Daniels differentiates the support system inherent in BAWIFT from the other local industry organizations in which she is involved. “There is a whole different feeling of mutual support and community that is special to BAWIFT,” Daniels explains, “For me, part of it is that we are a community of women filmmakers who want to learn, exchange and grow together, and part of it is that BAWIFT is a younger group, so there is a feeling that we are still molding what it will become; formulating its personality, which is very exciting.”

Daniels has been making films and videos in the Bay Area for over 20 years, and was a board member of BAWIFT’S short-lived predecessor, Northern California Women in Film and TV, several years ago. She partially attributes BAWIFT for helping to create a local environment where, in her view, “women in the film industry have made enormous strides.” She relates a story from early in her career, when she first started as a DP.

“I remember being invited to a Kodak event where they introduced a new film stock. There was a room full of about 100 cinematographers, and 3 of us were women. That has changed dramatically over the years and today it would be more like 25%. While there is not yet full parity, in recent years women are getting much more of the respect they deserve as film professionals, especially in the more technical areas of filmmaking.”

The diversity of the membership itself, rather than the supportive environment of BAWIFT meetings, is the main draw for some regulars. BAWIFT’s members run the gamut of the local industry, from the female audio engineers or cinematographers mentioned by Karil Daniels on the technical side, to documentary producers, to a large representation of those involved in the new media ventures of local industry giants such as Apple and Pixar.

Erica Milsom, another BAWIFT board member, who has worked as a video editor with both Apple and Pixar, as well as in boutique editing houses, describes her past frustrations in attempting to get various facets of the industry to connect. She found that indie film events suffered the same insulation as animator parties at Pixar. “BAWIFT”, Milsom explains, “was the first place I found where there were folks from all of these arenas getting together and sharing their experiences. The monthly meetings have panels that represent women from different disciplines, and the member screenings of works in progress travel that arc from documentary to narrative. In short, I joined BAWIFT not for the women, but to keep my connections intact. I really can't think of another organization in the Bay Area where these connections are forged.”

Milsom also points to another part of the BAWIFT community where its members connect: the online listserve affectionately known as “chicks-chat.” In fact, much of BAWIFT’s activity happens online. As Milsom relates, “There's an on-going connection between all the women on the listserve about screening opportunities, production advice, technical issues, grant opportunities and jobs.” On a given day, the BAWIFT listserve reaches over 500 women who can ask or answer technical questions, invite each other to their screenings, and most importantly, support each other in whatever industry ventures they may be embarking upon at that time.

I showed up to my first BAWIFT meeting with only one short movie under my director’s belt. From that day on, the group has seen me through every step of production on my first feature-length documentary, which is now touring in festivals. I connected and commiserated with fellow filmmakers at the meetings, found my audio engineer and gathered heaps of advice on chicks-chat, and now send my good news to the listserve before I even send it to my crew.

BAWIFT founder Liza Maine Seybold says, “Because the Bay Area is outside of the studio system and is known as a place that plays by it's own rules, I feel it is a wonderful and very positive place for women to get established and thrive in whatever part of the film community they decide to become a part of.”

I know I am not alone in saying that for me, the existence of BAWIFT is part of what makes her statement ring so true.