The first-ever COVEN Film Festival, San Francisco’s new world-class short film festival featuring films made by women, will host a full day of curated short film screenings, complete with filmmaker Q&A’s on Saturday, February 9th, 2019 at the New People Cinema in San Francisco’s historic Japantown neighborhood. A private networking event will take place the evening before on Friday, February 8th for filmmakers and sponsors.
More than 200 films were submitted from 19 countries. COVEN is dedicated to showcasing short films by underrepresented emerging women filmmakers with a lineup that includes work from creators of all ages and genres while spotlighting Bay Area artists.
COVEN is a gathering of like-minded people, as the name suggests. It’s our not-so-secret society of artists whose points of view deserve to be shared and amplified.” ~ Cameo Wood, COVEN Film Festival Director & Filmmaker
COVEN was created by women filmmakers, producers, and entrepreneurs inspired to build a festival that is accessible and welcoming to springboard talent. The founding team includes filmmaker Cameo Wood, actor/producer Connie Jo Sechrist, and Tanji CEO and founder Melinda Fox.
Fresh off two years on the festival circuit with her own award-winning short film, filmmaker Cameo Wood wanted to provide a new opportunity for female filmmakers. Building on the strongest attributes of the many festivals she attended, Cameo wanted this event to show that there is commercially viable, technically impressive, and wonderfully creative work being done by women of all backgrounds.
Wood also wanted to create an accessible space where these filmmakers could come together and share their films and experiences. “It was important to us to remove major barriers of entry from the start,” she says. “Our entry fee was far below industry standard, and we offered a suite of waivers to ensure anyone who wanted to submit their work could. We’ve also priced festival tickets at $25 for audiences giving them access to 25 films, multiple Q&A’s with filmmakers, and a panel featuring industry creatives and our partners.”
The festival founders also wanted to make sure all women creators felt welcome. Says festival co-director Melinda Fox, “This event spotlights women storytellers, and recognizes that not every woman is young, white, middle-class, cisgender, or able-bodied. Our mission is to amplify all women’s stories—emphasizing indigenous, disabled, and women of color—told by women creators.”
COVEN has partnered with organizations with a proven track record supporting women filmmakers in all phases of their careers. Programming partners include Bluestocking Film Series and Etheria Film Night, and fiscal sponsorship from Cinefemme — who have more than 25 years combined experience pushing for inclusion behind the camera and representation across screens.
Adds Wood, “We are looking forward to COVEN becoming a cornerstone of the San Francisco arts calendar. With the cinema’s Dolby 5.1 sound and all films presented in DCP, this is truly a top tier professional event that San Francisco’s film savvy audiences are going to love.”