Roddenberry Prize is a global competition to crowdsource innovative solutions to issues that demand audacious, far-reaching, and scalable responses.
written by : Alicia Panzer
Project Summary
Hallelujah Nation Productions is a faith-based production ministry teaching and empowering the next generation of filmmakers with a focus on women and diverse communities.
Project Type
This application is to launch a new educational initiative and strengthen a current initiative.
Primary and Secondary Issue Area
Our primary issue area is Gender Equity and Women. Specifically, we exist to fight Anti-Discrimination and secure women’s Rights.
Secondarily, our initiative focuses on providing Education for women.
Issue
In 2017, the #metoo movement brought the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace to the forefront of the conversation in Hollywood. Many women came forward and told their stories. Many accused men of sexual harassment, coercion, and rape. Others made it clear how hard it is to make someone believe that the answer is no. Still others reported sexual misconduct, slurs, and other behaviors that made it exceedingly uncomfortable for them. Sadly, this is widely accepted in the film industry. Supposedly, that is just the way it is. Now the movement receives less attention than it did four years ago, but it carries the same weight for women who deal with it every day on set. If the movement did nothing else, it made one thing clear. Women in the film industry need a safe place to work, and anything less than that is unacceptable.
Opportunities for women to tell their stories in film are scarce. Writers, directors, producers, editors, and others in film production are predominantly male. According to a study done by the Center for the Study of Women in TV and Film, women accounted for only 23% of these roles in the top 100 grossing films (Martha M. Lauzen). While this is a historic high, it is nowhere near adequate. In order to increase this number, education for women is desperately needed in these areas so that they can achieve success in the industry.
Works Cited
Martha M. Lauzen, Ph.D. The Celluloid Ceiling: Behind-the-Scenes Employment of U.S. Women on the Top Films of 2020. Annual. San Diego, CA: Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, 2021. Document.
Initiative
Hallelujah Nation Productions is a film production company that exists to provide a welcoming and fair workplace where women can work in film as equals to men. This involves providing a safe environment, but it also involves giving them the weapons they need to go on the battlefield. We believe in treating women fairly, so we will not baby them or give them “easy” roles. Instead of PA’s or dumb blonde extras, women will be writers and producers and managers. Within this environment, the founders of Hallelujah Nation Productions, are pursuing the creation of films with encouraging and uplifting messages. The company is starting with a project comparable to Bombshell (2019) that highlights harassment and discrimination that women face at work on a daily basis.
In addition to creating a safe place to work, the initiative also creates a safe place to learn. With the help of this grant, this company is gearing up to provide high quality, hands-on film curriculum to aspiring female filmmakers. Students will be enrolled in a variety of classes such as writing, editing, directing, and many more. Because classes take place within a production company setting, students have access to professional grade equipment as well as mentorship from experienced individuals in the industry. Upon completion of classes, students will be fully prepared to enter the professional world and tell the stories of women either with this initiative or elsewhere.
Communities Served
Our target population is women in the LA area, teens and adults alike, who want to learn the art of film-making. We are looking for women who are passionate about film and want to see it go far. They will be impacted not just by the skills they learn but by the environment that elevates them and pushes them to be their best. After completing their training, these women will be equipped with the skills they need to go into the industry and begin to make changes to their environments, which will impact Hollywood as a whole. On another front, upon the creation of our new films, which advocate for women in film both behind the scenes and in the content, the amount of people impacted increases exponentially. Thus, the impact that we have is in ever-expanding circles: first the women, then the Hollywood workplace, and then moviegoers everywhere.
Engagement
While working in male dominated industries, I asked my male peers’ advice on perfecting my craft. I was told outright that in order to learn something like this, I would have to date a professional in the business. Obviously, that is extremely inappropriate. However, the alternative is not feasible either. When I chose to reject flirty or sexually aggressive behavior from a film industry superior, I was rejected, loosing numerous future job opportunities. This was frustrating, but as they say, “rejection is protection.” Also, I was able to use this rejection as motivation to become a self-sufficient filmmaker and to help other women to do the same. Because I know how hard it is for a woman to make it in this industry, I want to give women a level playing field where they are equipped with the weapons they need to fight for themselves and achieve success.
Track Record
The leaders of our production company are all very successful individuals in the film industry. CEO Sara Kelly is a filmmaker and a dancer who started an LLC called Hip Hope, which created educational opportunities through high quality dance pieces and professional music videos. Sara has since moved to LA where she is hired for larger film projects to write scripts, produce, edit, head the art department, and assistant direct. The latter role was for a TV mini-series called Enemy of the People, which won best dark comedy at the Independent Shorts Awards and was selected for the Tribeca Film Festival. Sara has also won the Outstanding Creative Award from Suburban Community Channels in 2013 and 2015. She also works closely with Paul Rio, a filmmaker with many years of experience in VFX and editing, who is also passionate about advocating for women in film.
Creative
From WIFTI to ARRAY to Reframe to the Alliance of Female Directors, there are numerous organizations uplifting women in film. Most of these, however, either target women already experienced in the industry, or they are fellowships helping a few elites. Few are schools devoted to comprehensive training for women in the art of film-making. We have found an organization to partner with to help fill this gap: FLOW Film Festival. FLOW is the only film festival in the world showcasing and promoting films with women in non-traditional leadership roles. CEO and Founder Kimberly Douglas is a key figure in helping us organize this film school, and she continues to help by offering each of our students a free admission pass to FLOW. With her help, we found that the most effective way to fulfill this vision is to do it holistically. This curriculum includes a wide range of courses, from writing to editing to visual effects. Most importantly, students learn how to secure funding and support for one’s work, which is extremely important as a woman. At the end of the process, this curriculum is designed to produce a feature length film. To our knowledge, there is no other film curriculum with this level of hands-on activity. Students receive one-on-one mentoring by professionals and access to professional grade equipment throughout. Students also receive IMDB credits for their efforts. Lastly, students establish an extremely valuable network. Because they are studying with professionals, they have built-in connections to filmmakers across Hollywood.
COVID-19 Organizational Strategy
Obviously, COVID-19 has presented further difficulties in what is already a difficult business. However, it is nothing that the company cannot handle. Many people have been remote, such as several of the interns employed by the company. In production, we secure spaces that are large enough to accommodate social distancing, and of course everyone is masked. In addition, temperature checks are required upon entry, and we follow up with symptom checking regularly. On top of all of that, there is a designated COVID officer that is specifically in charge of making sure that all of the above safety protocols are followed.
Support and other Funding
There are already a few bases of support for this project. Some of our strongest supporters are Firepoint Church, Summit Christian Church, and Facts and Figures, who have garnered donations and lent out space to shoot films and run classes. We have also received one grant from the Mustard Seed Foundation in January 2021 for 10,000 dollars. In addition to financial and material support, Kimberly Douglas has offered her organizational and personal support for this project, as well as offering each of our students free admission to Flow Film Festival.
Impact to Date
Hallelujah Nation Productions is constantly taking on projects for various clients in need of editing, visual effects, and similar services. However, there is now a plan in place to produce the feature length film mentioned above. Since this story is about women and discrimination, we anticipate that many people will feel the impact of this project. $15,000 has been budgeted towards this project, and we have already secured locations as well as props and wardrobe. Although, the script is still currently being written, we have high hopes that this will be a successful venture.
The film school part of this project is brand new, so the impact has not come to pass yet. However, there is already a team of interns working on web design, class registration logistics, and sales and marketing. Over half of these interns are women getting training and gaining vital skills in their fields. In addition, even though the website has only been live for a few weeks, there have already been inquiries to register for classes.
Vision
If successful in all of its endeavors, Hallelujah Nation Productions will have a thriving film school dedicated to training women to be skillful filmmakers, who are both competent and capable of fighting for themselves in a hostile environment. It will also produce a feature length film featuring the work of women writers and directors who tell the story from a female perspective. Instead of pushing women to the side and tearing them down, we will have a working environment that uplifts women and pushes them to be their best. Our film curriculum will produce the successful filmmakers that we need to invade Hollywood and will be the change we want to see, by creating uplifting content that changes lives.
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