Women’s Panel (Santa Barbara International Film Festival, 2011)

Reviewed by Katharina Martin. Viewed at the Santa Barbara Film Festival 2011.

I attended the Women’s Panel this year at the Santa Barbara Film Festival. As the first event of my first film festival, I really didn’t know what to expect. Upon entering the Lobero Theater, I ran through my head the possibilities of what this presentation was going to entail. It wasn’t until a nice gentleman came and sat down next to me that I really began to understand the workings of SBIFF. It turned out that this man was the husband of Kirsten Cavendish, writer and producer a short called Scooterman. After briefly introducing ourselves, they went on to tell me a little about their movie that was part of the Shorts Program later that week. The discussion then turned to the women we were about to see. I informed them that this was my first time attending a panel. They had a lot good advice of what to expect, and said that the moderator can make or break these types of things. After thanking them for the good talk, I turned my attention to the stage and watched as the five women of the panel took their seats

The panel featured: Darla K Anderson(Producer-Toy Story 3), Colleen Atwood (Costume Design-Alice In Wonderland), Gloria Borders (Executive Visual Effects Producer-Digital Domain), Lesley Chilcott (Producer-Waiting For Superman), Alix Madigan (Producer-Winters Bone), moderated by Madelyn Hammond. As the questions began, I observed these women and tried to discern what sets them apart from everyone else. I think a lot of people would agree that the film business is still a mans world. However, this was a group of ladies who refused to accept this and worked their way to the top. Each panel member held themselves with authority, which translated through all aspects of communication. They each respectively listened to one another, never looking bored. Perhaps not only was the audience the recipient of new information; it seemed they all might have been learning something from each other as well. Understandably due to their ranging experience, jobs, and genre of movies, this is a conceivable notion. But maybe they were simply playing the part of support towards one another in the midst of a huge group of people.

For the me, the most relative question asked was the sacrifices that had to made to achieve their VIP jobs. Understandably the response was centered around sacrifices being made on a personal level. Although the typical female instinct calls to establish and raise a family, the crazy lives these women lead does not leave time for such things. Especially being a woman, getting to the top requires every ounce of dedication and passion to become successful. Sadly, this leaves little to no room for what women instinctively want. I would think that family life would take up just as much, if not more time, than working on a big production. Yet these women seem to have managed to successfully incorporate the two worlds into their lives. I am sure this presented almost as much of a challenge as their jobs do on a daily basis!

Overall, I enjoyed the Women’s Panel. Especially for those of us who –I think “lust” would be an appropriate adjective– for a place in Hollywood, it was very insightful. I think each one of these women are receiving well-deserved credit for their accomplishments, and I look forward to seeing more of their work.