It is our goal at Stephens College to increase the presence, influence and success of women in the film industry. We are committed to helping girls view themselves as directors, writers, cinematographers and editors.
The Citizen Jane Film Academy is designed to inspire girls (like you) to express their unique vision of the world through the art of filmmaking.
Some of the most successful and famous filmmakers started making movies in middle school—Steven Spielberg made his first movie when he was 13; he charged 25 cents admission to the premiere while his sister sold popcorn.
In the history of filmmaking, only four women have been nominated for an Oscar for Direction: Lina Wertmuller (1976), Jane Campion (1993), Sofia Coppola (2003) and Kathryn Bigelow (2010). Bigelow won—making her the only woman to take home the industry's highest honor.
Despite making up 52% of all moviegoers (that's right—women represent the majority of buying power... Cha-ching!), women remain vastly underrepresented in the film industry. As of 2010, women directed only 7% of the top 250 grossing films. Women accounted for 10% of writers on the top 250 films, but (are you ready for this?) a whopping 83% of those films didn't have any female writers at all. Only 18% of all editors were women. Behind the scenes it gets worse with women comprising only 2% of all cinematographers. Surprised? Maybe not. Saddened? We are too. It's time for all of this to change. Citizen Jane is ready. Are you?
