AFI Showcase Presented by Lifetime to Be Held April 12, 2016
Producer Sarah Gertrude Shapiro to Deliver Keynote
Los Angeles, CA – The American Film Institute (AFI) will host its annual AFI Conservatory Directing Workshop for Women (DWW) Showcase on Tuesday, April 12, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. at the Directors Guild of America (DGA) in Los Angeles. The event provides an opportunity for the program’s 2015 participants to premiere their work to an invitation-only audience of representatives and working artists from throughout the creative community. The opening keynote will be delivered by the evening’s guest of honor, Sarah Gertrude Shapiro, the co-creator and executive producer of Lifetime’s critically acclaimed Unreal, which she developed from her DWW short film Sequin Raze.
This year’s 10 episodic and short film directors in attendance will be: Amy Barrett, Christine Boylan, Dime Davis, Claire Fowler, Mia Lidofsky, Erica Liu, Bella Monticelli, Rebecca Murga, Philiane Phang and Chelsea Woods.
The Showcase will be presented by Lifetime, which recently announced a groundbreaking commitment to DWW through its Broad Focus initiative, guaranteeing employment to the graduate filmmakers, starting with the Class of 2015.
Lifetime is a premier entertainment destination for women dedicated to offering the highest quality original programming spanning scripted series, non-fiction series and movies.
Past DWW participants have gone on to great success including Pippa Bianco, who received the Cinéfondation Prize at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival for her DWW short Share; Lesli Linka Glatter , whose Emmy® Award-winning work as a producer and director on Homeland earned her PGA and DGA Award nominations in 2016; Sian Heder, whose Sundance 2016 competition premiere Tallulah, based on her DWW short Mother, sold to Netflix; and Shapiro, whose Unreal topped numerous 10 best lists and was an Official Selection of AFI Awards 2015.
The April 12 event will also introduce the newly selected AFI DWW Class of 2016: Joey Alley, Gillian Barnes, Rosie Haber, Tannaz Hazemi, Courtney Hoffman, Maggie Mahrt, Manjari Makijiany and Frankie Shaw.
The AFI Conservatory Directing Workshop for Women is a hands-on training program committed to increasing the number of women working professionally in screen directing. The innovative and tuition-free workshop is open to women with three years or more of professional experience in the arts, providing them an immersive opportunity to learn by doing — with each participant required to complete a short film or series by the end of the program.
For more on the AFI Conservatory Directing Workshop for Women, please visit: AFI.com/DWW
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