In Stage 32's continued effort to democratize the industry, we have partnered with Female Voices Rock for another thrilling virtual event to shine the light on women in the entertainment industry. On March 8, International Women's Day, some of the industry's female leaders will be coming together to host an inspiring webcast celebrating women in entertainment. The panel features four powerhouse female voices of entertainment, including:
After our live panel, join us for an exciting networking happy hour! We will break off into smaller groups and meet and toast your fellow female filmmakers, actors, screenwriters, cinematographers, production designers, and entertainment creatives & professionals from all over the world!
This is a global event and we encourage you to join us in making some noise! Take our #internationalwomensday challenge on social media!
Regardless of whether you are able to attend the panel live or not, we'd still love to hear from you! Comment below with your answer to "I felt empowered when..." to get the conversation started here in the Stage 32 community. All are welcome, whether you identify as female or not. We're all here to celebrate the contributions of women!
Robyn Watson is Vice President of Corporate Communications at Gannett, a subscription-led and digitally focused media and marketing solutions company. Prior to that, Robyn was director of communications for WarnerMedia Distribution, based in Atlanta. Previous to that, Robyn was the principal owner of Watson Media Ventures (WMV), an entertainment consulting firm that advised on film, television, digital media productions and entertainment events. Prior to WMV, she spent over 17 years as a corporate communications executive at Verizon and Time Warner Cable.
Robyn has been involved in the Women In Film organization for over 10 years having served on the board of directors for New York Women In Film & Television (NYWIFT) and Women In Film and Television Atlanta (WIFTA). She is also on the board of Women In Film & Television International (WIFTI) where she serves on the Knowledge, Advocacy and Activism Committee.
Robyn graduated from Emory University and holds a master’s degree in Organizational Leadership from Benedictine University.
As Managing Director for Stage 32, Amanda oversees operations and partnerships for the global business. She has curated over 1,500 hours of online education created exclusively for Stage 32 and works with hundreds of entertainment industry executives from around the world to serve as educators and mentors. She has spearheaded partnerships with such prestigious organizations as the Cannes Film Festival Marché du Film, American Film Market, SXSW, Austin Film Festival, Raindance Film Festival, Hollyshorts Film Festival, PGA, WGA, and DGA, as well as brands such as AT&T, Peerspace, Pond5, Mandy, Bondit Media Capital, and her personal favorite partnership, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, which is the official vodka of Stage 32.
As a film producer, Amanda has worked on the psychological thriller What Lies Ahead starring Rumer Willis and Emma Dumont, Metaphorms, a Hungarian film, which premiered at the Raindance Film Festival, and Dolphin Girl which premiered at the Oscar-qualifying Hollyshorts Film Festival. She has also helped incubate Chick Fight, starring Malin Akerman, Alec Baldwin, and Bella Thorne, and 10-31 which is being produced by Eli Roth and Orion Pictures. She is an Executive Producer on Vagic with Amy Baer at Gidden Media, as well as My Clone's an A*Hole with National Lampoon. As a television producer, she recently sold an unscripted show to a major US network.
Amanda has spoken all over the world at the Cannes Film Festival (France), Hollyshorts Film Festival (US), Raindance Film Festival (UK), Hamburg Film Fest (Germany), Trinidad & Tobago Film Commission (Trinidad), Fest Festival (Portugal) and Harvard (US) on the business of the entertainment industry.
Growing up between Europe and the US, Catherine has a global perspective that she uniquely brings to each film and project she is a part of. This, along with her avid attention-to-detail, valuable direction, and impressive verbosity, has gained recognition in the film community.
Catherine founded Female Voices Rock, an organization that aims to increase the female presence in the film and TV industry. Through her organization, Catherine has raised a substantial amount of money for various film projects, creating a substantial platform for underrepresented filmmakers in the industry. The annual Female Voices Rock Film Festival is currently ranked one of the top 100 by Film Freeway, showcasing quality short-form content and screenplays by emerging and international filmmakers.
Kimberley Browning is a filmmaker & film festival professional based in Los Angeles. Originally from the Washington DC area, Kimberley studied music performance and film at USC, then began her career working in production at Disney's Touchstone Television. Her film credits include Archie’s Final Project, which world premiered and won the Silver Bear Award at Berlinale in 2009, Uprooted: The Journey of Jazz Dance which premieres on HBO Max in Feb 2022, and the upcoming feature Acting Like Nothing is Wrong. Additional credits include All Hallow’s Eve 2, Certified, Room 19 and Earbuds: A Podcasting Documentary. Episodic credits include programming for HBO, A&E Networks, CBS, NBC, ABC Signature, Rollingstone.com, People.com, Warner Brothers TV, Comedy Central, and RealNetworks.
Kimberley is the Head of Programming at the Catalyst Content Festival (formerly ITVFest) and is an Associate Short Film Programmer for Tribeca Film Festival. She is the Founder and Festival Director of the Hollywood Shorts Film Festival, launched in 1998. She was an Associate Short Film Programmer at LA Film Festival, and the Short Film Programmer at Guadalajara International Film Festival - Los Angeles. She is the Program Advisor at Tribeca's Untold Stories feature film grant program and previously was the Executive Producer of HBO Access.
Kay Ross is a producer, screenwriter, and actor who started her career immediately after high school in professional theatre in her hometown of Washington, D.C. After attending Colorado Film School and receiving her B.F.A. in Film and Video Production, she worked in production for various networks, including REELZ, Investigation Discovery, Food Network, and BBC America. While training to become a production manager, Kay never stopped writing and producing short films. She relocated to Los Angeles to change her career projection to creative producing.
Since moving in 2019, she has written several short films, developed two pilot scripts, worked on a dozen television shows, two feature films, and launched "The Victory Round", a weekly live event to help professionals gain confidence by celebrating their victories. Currently, Kay co-hosts The Coverage Report with Lit Kilpatrick in the Stage 32 Writer's Room, is producing the short film "Sanctuary" with her creative partner, and is available for script coverage through Stage 32 as an industry reader. She loves opportunities to work with inclusive, diverse, and driven professionals, especially on projects based on true events or scientific research.
As the Community Manager for Stage 32, Kay has published almost 50 blogs on networking, mentoring, mental health, and celebrating diversity in the industry. She loves to connect creatives to resources, upcoming opportunities, and other potential professionals through the Stage 32 lounges. She may even have a thing or five to say about film production. You'll find Kay in the Acting, Animation, Filmmaking, Producing, and Transmedia Lounges most frequently. Join her every Friday on "The Victory Round" by following her on Instagram @k.osswrites and @TheVictoryRound.
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Coffee & Content: Celebrating Women in Entertainment - Actress & Filmmaker Roundtable |
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Blog Post by Karen "Kay" Ross, posted on Saturday, March 5th, 2022
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