Chicago Women Film Fest in partnership with the Chicago Women Film Institute is an international festival devoted to the promotion, screening and recognition of female talents working on all genres of filmmaking from all over the globe.

 

Our team consists of internationally acclaimed female artists working together to bring award winning female directors and artists in various seasonal and annual events and programs of the fest. We also have an IMDb qualifying competition with virtual and live event screenings offered to female directors in our seasonal and annual programs. 

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According to Dr. Martha Lauzen, the executive director of the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, "If men are directing the vast majority of our films, the majority of those films will be about males from a male point of view. The female presence in filmmaking is more significant than just employment, it contributes to a greater cultural issue.

 

Even though there is a huge gender disparity in filmmaking, there are notable exceptions, women who have figuratively broken through the celluloid ceiling and become pioneers in their field. Lois Weber, Kira Muratova, Leni Riefenstahl, Kathryn Bigelow, Jane Campion, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Claire Denis, Sofia Coppola, Patty Jenkins, Ava DuVernay, Catherine Hardwick, Amy Heckerling, Julie Taymor, Nora Ephron, Greta Gerwig, Chloé Zhao, and Lulu Wang are some significant female names in filmmaking today and in history.