Girls, Cameras and the Art of Filmmaking
¥ College of Santa Fe brings high-schoolers and mentors together
in the name of fostering females in the film industry.

Story by Michelle Pentz Glave
Photos by Craig Fritz
The New Mexican
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At first, thereÕs a tense silence. Four high-school-age girls from across the country Ð who have just met for the first time Ð wander the halls of the College of Santa FeÕs Anne and John Marion Center for Photographic Arts in search of a storyline. ThereÕs certainly fodder for imagination: a pile of plaster-of-Paris ears here; ceramic tiles depicting fetuses there; vivid purple-and-maroon walls casting geometric shadows everywhere. But the girls only have one hour to produce a short film they will later edit on the Canon digital video camera that most of them have learned to operate just minutes before. Sealed in a shady courtyard, one of the girls blurts out, ÒIÕve got it! What about Melanie crying under a treeÉSheÕs just broken up with her boyfriendÉÓ ÒÉAnd it starts with a cell-phone call,Ó adds another. ÒWe can show the emotional impact on her faceÉÓ Suddenly, the girls have hit upon the story for their first hands-on project at Day One of the collegeÕs GirlsFilmSchool.

A two-week, intensive summer program on campus from June 17 to 28, GirlsFilmSchool introduces about 20 teens to all the facets of filmmaking: writing, directing, acting, producing and cinematography. Paramount for the camp is building self confidence and getting creative juices flowing. But the main focus is pairing girls with female mentors Ð visiting and local artists with experience in the industry Ð says Tanya Doriss, the schoolÕs 26-year-old assistant director. In the male-dominated Hollywood film industry, Doriss says, ÒIt is extremely important for these girls to have people to look up to, trust and model themselves after,Ó she says. ÒIf we can give the tools to communicate what sheÕs thinking and to feel connected to just one woman, then weÕve done our job.Ó
During the two weeks, the girls will also view significant works by female artists, screen their own production and even star in a documentary that explores females in film. All screenings at the Garson Communication Center Ð The Screen and Studio 1 Ð are open to the public.

Helena Lumme, a Finnish author and filmmaker base din Los Angeles, is incorporating GirlsFilmSchool into an ambitions three-part project. Earlier this year, Lumme published Great Women of Film, an account of 30 women who have made an impact on the film industry. Lumme followed her book with an exhibition at the Academy of Motion Pictures during the Oscar awards. Now, she is finishing her documentary: portraits of eight of the 30 women. Lumme shadowed each for six months at work, home and play. During the two-week camp, Lumme will add footage of GirlsFilmSchool participants Ð whom she began interviewing before they left home to head to Santa Fe Ð about their hopes, aspirations and expectations. Lumme expects to finish her movie by the end of the year. ÒThese girls are young, and talented, and see the world as ideal; I want to juxtapose that viewpoint with women who have been in the industry for 30 years and know the reality of the business,Ó says Lumme.

Her mission is to inform girls about the many opportunities available in the industry, aside from acting and directing. Among them are costume design, set decorating and camera and prop work. Lumme also heads WomenÕs Film & Art Foundation, which supports women aspiring to work in film. Last year, only 6 percent of movie directors were female, she says; and females occupied a meager 2 percent in other categories such as cinematography, camera, production and props. ÒItÕs like they didnÕt even exist,Ó she says.

Increasing the number of women entering the movie business and getting girls to explore the medium are two of the schoolÕs objectives according to Doriss, as is helping girls be Òstrong, engaged, confident and have a voice.Ó Deborah Fort, an accomplished documentary filmmaker, started the program three years ago. Funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Academy Foundation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Wells Fargo, Santa Fe Community Foundation and others, GirlsFilmSchool is open to 10th-, 11th- and 12thh- grade girls nationally. Girls apply for slots; this year, a school committee selected 20 participants. The program, which includes on-campus room and board, costs $2,500, though fill scholarships are available. Mentors are students from the College of Santa FeÕs Moving Image Arts Department, now one-quarter female. But based on the schoolÕs showing this year, that may soon change.

"IÕm here because I love film and want to pursue a career in film,Ó says Sasha Nordeen, a recent Santa Fe transplant who already has produced two independent films. ÒBy being able to express myself through video, I can bring attention to myriad issues otherwise not in the spotlight.Ó Melanie Stewart of Greenville, S.C., is at GirlsFilmSchool to Òexhaust every possibility of creativity.Ó Back in the courtyard, momentum gathers on the girlsÕ first production. Mentor Tiana Hart draws out ideas for the break-up drama. ÒDid he cheat on her? Did he just wake up one morning and say, I want to break up with herÕ?Ó Halley Roberts, a 16-year-old from Santa Fe, says, ÒHow about theyÕre different races? And they canÕt be togetherÉÓ ÒI know! One black hand and one white oneÉÓ adds another girl. Melanie Stewart and Jennifer Sugg of Lake Orion, Mich., lie down on the ground, facing each other, hands entwined Ð one white, one black. Moody shadows set the scene. The girls all agree itÕs a great opening image. Hart directs: ÒOk, take the lid off the lens! Good! Now you can say, ÔAction! Quiet on the set!Ó

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