Budding female auteurs can also find support on campus through various programs such as SFSU’s Feminist Filmmakers’ Fellowship and CSULB’s Women in Film Association. “We’re teaching all our underrepresented students to stand up and advocate for themselves,” Scheer says. “Men are often trained by social values to be able to do this. A lot of our students from lower income backgrounds are trained to not ask for too much.”
Sometimes, smaller changes can also have a larger effect. For example, Professor David Waldman, head of the cinematography track at CSULB, makes it a point to use the pronoun “she” when speaking generically in class. “It’s impressive and noticeable,” Scheer says.
PREPPING FOR THEIR BIG BREAK
The CSU equips students with the necessary skills to break into the film industry. In addition to regular coursework, they're provided with internship opportunities, on-campus speaker series, résumé assistance and advice on finding a mentor to help pave the road.
“I bring award-winning filmmakers to campus all the time to do masterclasses and Q&As,” Scheer says. “And I talk to my students about my personal challenges and successes as a documentary filmmaker, so they understand what it all means in the real world.”
Another entry point into the competitive field of cinema is via the CSU’s vast network of alumni. Vickroy says she receives frequent requests from former students looking to fill positions. “Those connections are incredibly important and really help students.” The
California State University Entertainment Alliance also offers networking, grants, career opportunities and an internship program.
This multifaceted strategy seems to be paying off in the form of early career milestones. CSULB student directors
Samantha Hernandez and
Sarrah Wolfe won first place best documentary
CSU Media Arts Awards in 2018 and 2019, respectively, while Trilina Mai was nominated for a 2019 Student Academy Award for her three-minute animated short
“Push.” SFSU student Molly Stuart’s film
“Objector” had its international premiere at IDFA, the world’s largest documentary film festival; and Anaiis Cisco’s thesis film
“Drip Like Coffee” premiered at Raindance in London.
In 2018, CSUN student Dilek Ince took home the Director’s Guild of America Jury Award for Outstanding Women Student Filmmakers for her work as producer/director on
“Amal.” And this past December, CSUN student Jasmine Galdamez received a grant from The Caucus Foundation for Producers, Writers, Directors for her short
“El Mozote.”
“The film department at CSULB is like a very supportive family who wants to see you succeed,” Hernandez recalls. “They really challenged me in the best way possible. I remember thinking,
How am I going to do that? and then later,
Wow, look what I did!”