Gamechanger — A For-Profit Business Dedicated to Funding Feature Films Directed By Women
A recurring topic has been popping up recently at award shows and festivals alike. From Sundance to the Oscars, it seems the one thing many people are noticing is the scarcity of women directors in Hollywood. Driven by sickeningly low numbers – last year only six percent of the top 250 grossing films were directed by women – a new organization was formed.
Birthed last fall, Gamechanger Films is the first for-profit business with the primary goal of funding narrative features directed by women. Their now-sister company, Chicken & Egg Pictures, takes on the non-profit documentary side, while Gamechanger has been formed to fight on the more commercial front.
“Society is geared to think of women as charity cases. That’s why we are for-profit,” says Gamechanger president and former producer, Mynette Louie. “This is a real business and narrative features are funded by equity investments, not grants. You need more money to make a good movie and Hollywood speaks in terms of money.”
In fact, this mission is what brought Gamechanger Films to South By Southwest. Last night as part of the 2014 Film Awards Ceremony, Jen McGowan won the now re-named Gamechanger Award for her film, Kelly and Cal.
Nine films were nominated by the Austin festival less than two months ago, and after viewing all of the films the Gamechanger staffers voted on their favorite, Louie admitted that her pick was in fact the winner. A coming-of-age comedy, Kelly and Cal focuses on the unlikely friendship between a punk rocker turned suburban housewife and a melancholy teenager. McGowan not only took home the honor, but also $2500 towards her next film.
Louie and her Gamechanger team are out to prove that movies directed by women can make real money (aside from prizes they bestow upon deserving directors). If this sounds familiar it might be because Cate Blanchett made the same declaration in her Academy Award speech less than two weeks ago.
Their first film release, Land Ho!, debuted at January’s Sundance Film Festival and has been snowballing into a huge success. In fact, Sony Pictures Classic recently bought the low-budget film for a decent chunk of change. And Gamechanger is not stopping anytime soon. The team is currently vetting a couple of comedies, as well as a horror movie – two genres which rarely put women behind the camera.
Once Gamechanger votes to greenlight a film, they use the slate financing model in order to back a movie. With over two dozen investors, Louie says that most backers choose to invest as a way to learn more about the process. “We want to breed a very healthy investor class.” For producers and funders, the best way to reduce the risk of investing is to note the director, cast, and budget to make sure all three factors match up.
“There are ways to make smarter choices because, currently, there’s too much dumb money in film.”
Feature photo of Keylly & Cal director, Jen McGowan, courtesy of SXSW.com
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TAGS: award shows entertainment SXSW Women in Hollywood