Scott Cobb

I attended the screening Sunday May 19th of the UT-Austin RTF Undergraduate thesis production class. For the first time in the decades long history of RTF, there were more women than men directors in the thesis class. Congratulations to all the directors, crew and cast members of all the films. According to the printed program distributed at the screening, there were a total of 14 films created by 15 directors (one film had co-directors). 9 of the directors are women. 6 of the directors are men. Compare that to 2016, when 12 of the thesis films had men directors and 1 was directed by a woman. In 2017, it was 8 men and 3 women. In 2018, it was five and five. I started raising money for production grants a few years ago to support women and diverse directors in RTF. The grants given out since 2017 by Women In Cinema plus all the outreach and other activities they do have really had an impact! Thank you to major donors Kat Candler and the non-profit run by Michelle Voss, Moving Image Arts and Education!

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A post shared by Scott Cobb (@brandonscottcobb) on May 19, 2019 at 6:21pm PDT

Some good news related to the production grants given out by Women in Cinema in RTF at The University of Texas at Austin.

Here is a list of the 2019 Undergraduate Thesis Production Films. There are a total of 17 films created by 18 directors (One film had co-directors). Ten of the directors are women. 8 of the directors are men.

Compare that to 2016, when 12 of the thesis films had men directors and 1 was directed by a woman. In 2017, it was 8 men and 3 women. In 2018, it was five and five.

The grants given out starting in 2017 by Women In Cinema plus all the outreach and other activities they do have really had an impact! Special thanks to major donors Kat Candler and Moving Image Arts & Education .

Women in Cinema, a student organization at UT-Austin, has posted the grants application for this year’s Women in Cinema Spring 2019 Female-Directed Thesis Grant! If you are a woman in Radio-Television-Film at The University of Texas at Austin, you can apply for one of the grants if you’ll directing a film in the undergraduate thesis class in spring 2019.

From the application: “Thank you for your interest in this year’s grant application! We are seeking to support women directors through this grant program by providing funds for those in the undergraduate thesis class in spring 2018. We have $5000 to award. All female directors in the thesis class will receive some of these funds. This application can be completed by the director OR producer of the project. In order to be eligible for this grant, your project must be directed by a currently registered female student enrolled in the spring 2019 undergraduate production thesis class.

As applicants for the thesis class, you are to request the grant amount you want (any amount from $0-$1000). Awards will be contingent on the amount of applications and the availability of funds. This application is due (by email to austinwomenincinema@gmail.com) by 11:59PM CENTRAL TIME ON SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15. The grant winners will be contacted by the beginning of December. Please reach out to us if you have any questions!”

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1x-dSocq0ov5VedKGl2BD9NqCRaVHNCg09papYWF034c/edit

Last year Women in Cinema gave out more than $5,000. In 2016, WIC gave out more than $1,600 with funds raised through the Grants Initiative to Support Women and Diverse Filmmakers in RTF.  The goal has been to increase the number of women directors making films in the thesis in RTF. In 2016, the undergraduate thesis class had 12 men directors and only one woman director. In 2017, the thesis class had only 3 women directors out of 11 total directors. In 2018, the class had an equal number of women and men directors, 5 and 5.

Congratulations to the 2018 recipients of grants awarded by Women in Cinema, a UT student organization. This is the second year WIC has given out grants with the goal to increase the number of women directors in RTF advanced production classes.

Fundraising for the grants began in 2016 through the Grants Initiative to Support Women and Diverse Filmmakers in RTF. Thank you to the donors who made the grants possible!

Women in Cinema has done a great job with the grants! In 2016, there was only one woman director and 12 men directors in the undergraduate thesis class. After two years of grants, this year there are five women directors and five men directors in the thesis class.

Q&A after UT RTF Undergraduate Thesis Screening May 11, 2018. Congratulations to all the directors, producers, crew and cast! The films were very impressive! Listen around second 50, minute 8:30, and minute 15:20 to hear some comments on gender issues.