“The independent film movement in India is in a nascent stage. I see an opportunity for growth,” says Caroline Libresco, US-based film curator and creative producer, during a brief interaction at American Corner, St Francis College for Women, Hyderabad.
Having interacted with students and independent filmmakers in Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram before arriving in Hyderabad, Caroline hopes to encourage women independent filmmakers in both feature and documentary categories, to work on pitching and developing their projects better and finding financial support. She will also be meeting filmmakers in New Delhi.
Caroline is armed with the experience of having been one of the head programmers at the Sundance Film Festival for nearly two decades, until 2019. She served as the director of Sundance Women’s Initiative (2012 to 2019) and was the founding director of Sundance Catalyst (2013 to 19), through which she helped build a community of more than 100 financiers, helping raise more than $31 million for 89 films, notable among them being Writing with Fire, Truffle Hunters, Crip Camp, Won’t You Be My Neighbor and The Witch.
Talking about her sessions with students and filmmakers in India, Caroline says the focus is on addressing issues related to project development and helping them pitch their stories better, in addition to networking and financing.
Reflecting on what led her and like-minded collaborators to moot the Sundance Women’s Initiative, Caroline says the 2000s and 2010s were pivotal decades in the American independent film movement. “In 2010-11, we had a hunch that women were not doing well in Hollywood, and in the independent film space. We had to identify obstacles and fix them; for that we needed research. Because one cannot argue with evidence.”
‘Food and Country’
With the help of researchers at USC Annenberg led by Stacy L Smith, a study was conducted to identify issues concerning independent women directors and producers. “Based on the findings, we designed our program. Access to and knowledge of financing and male-dominated networks were issues to be dealt with. We found that there was a long gap between the first and second films for women directors, while male directors made films in quick succession,” says Caroline.
Programmes were designed to bring together high net-worth individuals who could finance films and women filmmakers who needed financial support.
At a larger level, Caroline believes that systemic changes are necessary to provide equitable opportunities for women in cinema.
In India, Caroline hopes that film producer Guneet Monga leading the Women in Film India chapter will be a step towards paving the way for gender equity.
Published - September 11, 2024 03:19 pm IST
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