Former St. Albert resident Camille Beaudoin, co-founder of Mosaic Entertainment, took a close look at women in film and their advancements.
After reviewing the data, it was pretty clear that gender bias was still heavily ingrained in the film industry – something that did not sit well with the École Secondaire St. Marguerite d’Youville graduate.
To reverse this gender bias, Beaudoin is the driving force behind Girls in Film and Television (GIFT), a five-day workshop for 14- to 18-year-olds. This pilot project takes participants through all the major steps of filmmaking in a seamless process.
“This started when we were shooting #Roxy in St. Albert. We did research on the contributions of teenage girls in the industry, and discovered a big disparity between male and female characters in both adult and children’s films,” said Beaudoin.
She cited several statistics. In the top 100 films of 2017, male leads outnumbered women three to one. Male characters also appear on screen two times more than women and speak twice as much as females. If a contract is based on the number of words spoken, it can adversely affect a paycheque.
Behind the camera, the numbers were more lopsided. Men outnumber women in key production roles by five to one. Only seven per cent are directors, 13 per cent are writers, 24 per cent are producers and five per cent are cinematographers.
“We realized we needed to tackle it head-on and get more women in the industry behind the camera and change it from the ground up.”
GIFT runs Aug. 26 to 30 at NAIT’s HP Centre. Participants will be introduced to story development, script writing, sketch comedy writing, directing, camera work, lighting and even budgets.
A series of professional guest instructors will mentor the young filmmakers. They include Beaudoin; Jesse Szymanski, CEO of Modern Muse Media; producer Margaux McWatt; film editor Sarah Taylor, and director Katrina Beatty.
“During the five days, participants will get instruction in manageable bites. We want them to get to work right away. We will split them in groups so they’re working as a team – the way films are made. They will create their own idea and over the five days we will add more to the project so they keep working on the next step,” said marketing and public relations manager Lindsey McNeill.
A large part of this initiative was also drawn from Beaudoin’s personal experience.
“By the time I was 14, I decided I wanted to be in the film industry. I looked around, but there was nothing out there after the end of high school.”
She applied to Simon Fraser University’s film school program, but despite being a top student at ESSMY, she was denied entrance into the film program.
“They had an expectation that you already had film experience. But when the opportunities are not out there, you can’t get experience. On the other hand, my business partner, Eric Rebalkin, attended Vic Composite High and took film. When he applied, he got in.”
GIFT is a way to give teenage girls the experience and exposure Beaudoin was unable to find. But she never quit her dream.
“I actually fell into it. I got an entry-level position with Patty Tucker who was working on Mentors. Once I got an entry-level position and proved myself, I couldn’t stop getting hired.”
Beaudoin hopes that by next summer, GIFT can offer high school credits.
“This year, it is just a pilot project. It’s going to be plain fun and we’re going to make a movie. It will be a blast.”
The program cost is $250. There is a $100 saving on early bird registration before Sunday, Aug. 19. For more information, call 780-479-5960 or email [email protected] or visit www.girlsinfilmtv.com.
