Camp Reel Stories Helps Today’s Girls Become Tomorrow’s Media Creators

Guest blog by Molly Celaschi

The numbers were dire- 6% were directors, 25% were producers, 17% were editors, and only 12% were game developers. Those were just a handful of the low percentages of women employed behind the scenes in media last year. To say women are severely underrepresented in all forms of media is an understatement. And sadly, the under-representation of women leads to misrepresentation.

So the question is- How do we get more women writing, directing, and producing media?

That brings me to Camp Reel Stories, a camp that teaches young girls aged 13-18 how to write, film, edit, and market their own movies. Heading into our second year, CRS knows that the way to change the portrayal of women in the media is to hire more women to create the media. And more women will be striving for these roles if we show them that they can do it. What you can see, you can dream.

But when males hold the majority of the entertainment industry, it is hard for a girl to imagine going into that field, let alone getting the support she would need. The girls at CRS are supported by such talents as Jill Culton (Toy Story, Monsters Inc.) and Brenda Chapman (Academy Award Winning Director of Brave), giving them the confidence that they too can achieve greatness at major film studio.  The one-week camp includes workshops, hands-on training, and motivation speeches by special guests.

While I’m proud of the growth of CRS in this short first year, I’m not the least bit surprised. The girls, across the board, loved the camp. The shy ones spoke up. The underprivileged had a way to be seen. Everyone had a chance to be heard and work as a team. The short films we screened at our first film festival in October 2013, were on par with films I’ve seen adults make… with several years of experience under their belts. Make no mistake- these exceptional shorts were made 100% by the girls. The adults, myself included, were there as “producers” to oversee the process and field technical questions. But the girls CREATED these stories. They told them, they lined up the shots, they edited it into a meaningful statement. But don’t just take my word for it, see them for yourself.

And so like the female writers and directors that helped start this camp, our girls will take you on an incredible journey. Gone is the idea that all girls are little princesses that need rescuing; girls can save themselves. Sometimes they battle dragons; sometimes they battle themselves. But either way, a girl fighting for herself can never lose.

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Molly Celaschi is a published writer, and is on the Camp Reel Stories Board of Directors. She currently resides near San Francisco where she continues to work in Media Relations and is busy on her next book.

 

2014-06-16T09:48:02+00:00

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