Kara Mauer - The World We Dare to Imagine Post #2

 The Organization for Powerful Women in Entertainment

Mission: The entertainment industry is a big place. Our mission is to strategize a niche and start writing and developing stories that surround women and their lives. So many historical and action films base around men, and we would like to start incorporating those of women, while bringing up women behind the screen as well. Our project includes fiction stories and documentaries that will be sent to development studios.

Team

In order to write and create stories surrounding women, we must recruit women who are writers and also visionaries with entertainment as their main passion. Finding women like this is not difficult, considering the School of Cinematic Arts has a program called Women of Cinematic Arts, where women can band together and support each other from not only their time in the university, but in their careers. With an organization like this supplied at USC, we can start recruiting from the grassroots and continue up the line.  To raise awareness for our foundation, our group can start by lifting up women from universities, creating documentaries surrounding their work and their lives on campus.

Opportunity

With the recognition of female influence in the film industry, there is a lot of space for new films and stories to be made with that influence. When I was growing up I was always inspired by the female characters I experienced on screen. When young adult fictions became a world of their own, strong female leads became a huge impact and I felt empowered by their stories, and immersed in their worlds. For women characters to have that much of an impact on me, I know that they provide a great influence on the women around me. I would like our organization to lift up those stories and give young women all around the world the same passion and experiences that I had.

Solution

Our organization will begin with documentaries raising awareness to the opportunity that women in film will have when they are able to create motion pictures that they can relate to and feel connected to. I am also working with a female actor friend of mine to create a screenplay that centers around a woman whose underestimation becomes her best asset. If our organization searches for women that can not only do the technical operations behind the camera, but can write and begin a story from a blank page, then we will be successful in our endeavors.

Competition

Women-owned video production companies are popping up all over, growing the impact of women in media and other creative outlets. Actresses such as Margot Robbie, Elizabeth Banks, Natalie Portman, and Eva Longoria have started their own production companies to have a say in the screenplays that they star in. This bodes for good competition going into the world of filmmaking as a new organization. However, our company is about utilizing female creators at the forefront of all aspects of production, including producing, directing, cinematography and writing.

Business Model

My team and I have already started our branding, and writing our first round of scripts. The next step for us would be to gather the women from our network and pitch to them our ideas, asking for their opinions and if they would like to partake in our company. We have already started to do this by creating a coming-of-age film this summer led by an entirely female crew at the forefront. In order to gain revenue, we would love to release our beginning short films and documentaries to film festivals where we can not only gain exposure, but win money to continue to fund our future projects. Once we are far enough along, we plan to gain revenue from our audiences and sponsors.

Conclusion

I am extremely excited to spearhead this startup, and continue something that I have been passionate about since the day I stepped on campus. Already starting this company and having a team of wonderful women beside me is a great beginning. Our next step is to continue our screenplay, send our short film to festivals, and begin our documentary to spread awareness.

Works Cited:

1. Emily Zemler, "17 Actresses That Started Their Own Production Companies". ELLE. March 3, 2021. https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/g14927338/17-actresses-with-production-companies/

2. "Women of Cinematic Arts". USC School of Cinematic Arts. https://womenofcinematicarts.org/about-us