According to a press release that Fangoria received, aspiring female filmmakers can apply for a full scholarship to Rogue Studios’ EmpowHER Female Filmmaking program courtesy of Puppet Killer director Lisa Ovies. She launched the program earlier in the spring, following years of traveling the film festival circuit and attending numerous pitch meetings as one of, if not the only, female director or writer in a space. She would also meet women who would constantly be telling her how much they would have loved to get behind the camera and tell stories.
It will be an eight-week online course that covers everything you might need to know about getting your film off the ground. The subjects covered are pre-production, casting, script writing, cinematography, editing, and navigating the film festival experience. Raimi Productions will sponsor the scholarship for the program.
“I started to realize pretty quick that the lack of representation wasn’t at all reflective of the desire and that most women were hesitant to start because they either didn’t have spaces they felt safe in to start asking the questions and learning the skills outside of committing to a full-time program, or they lacked personal role models telling them they could do it,” said Ovies.
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The Course Will Be Sponsored by Raimi Productions
Photo: Gage Skidmore
Sam Raimi is the director who’s made a wide variety of films but is best known for his work in the horror and superhero genre. Such as The Evil Dead, Darkman, Drag Me To Hell, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Zainab Azizi will also donate the money for the scholarship besides Raimi. Besides being the president of Raimi Productions and producer on Umma, she was vital in making this connection happen.
“As a person who was so strongly influenced by Sam Raimi as a young filmmaker, the connection to Raimi Productions and my school truly feels like a dream. I can’t wait to see what stories the next wave of female filmmakers will tell and the slow balance of representation on screen that will start as a direct result of more women and minorities making film.”
If you’re interested in learning more, then you should head over to the homepage for Rogue Studios and Ovies’ EmpowHer Female Filmmaking series here. Teachers for the course include Ovies, Azizi, Joanna Tsanis, Seth Sherwood, Monika Dalman, Gigi Saul Guerrero, Mel Ward, Robert Phaneuf Sound, Marena Dix, Stephen Gallagher, and Jason Tostevin. Though there might be slight changes to the content or instructors due to the availability of the staff, every effort will be made to replace with equal or greater content.
“Zainab is amazing and beyond inspiring. Having worked from the mailroom up to becoming president of a company working with one of the top genre directors in the world, all while being so incredibly kind and supportive of women and such a strong champion for diverse storytelling and representation. I am beyond honored to have her as a part of this program, and I know our students are going to get so much out of their time.”
