Episode 34: Michelle Kantor Talks About Cinefemme

It’s no secret that women are under represented in the film industry. One study showed that for the top grossing films in 2017, women made up only 18% of all directors, writers, producers, executive producers, editors, and cinematographers. Women made up only 11% of all directors and 88% of the films had no female directors.

Michell Kantor has set out to change that. In 2002, she helped to found Cinefemme, a non-profit charitable 501-c3 organization that provides fiscal sponsorship for women-helmed films and projects. She herself is an award-winning writer/director and producer and she has several projects in the works. We love the movies and we would love to see more women make movies. Michelle Kantor talks with Woman Around Town’s Editor Charlene Giannetti about Cinefemme.

Photo by Janet Barnett 

About Charlene Giannetti (684 Articles)
Charlene Giannetti, editor of Woman Around Town, is the recipient of seven awards from the New York Press Club for articles that have appeared on the website. A graduate of Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Charlene began her career working for a newspaper in Pennsylvania, then wrote for several publications in Washington covering environment and energy policy. In New York, she was an editor at Business Week magazine and her articles have appeared in many newspapers and magazines. She is the author of 13 non-fiction books, eight for parents of young adolescents written with Margaret Sagarese, including "The Roller-Coaster Years," "Cliques," and "Boy Crazy." She and Margaret have been keynote speakers at many events and have appeared on the Today Show, CBS Morning, FOX News, CNN, MSNBC, NPR, and many others. Her last book, "The Plantations of Virginia," written with Jai Williams, was published by Globe Pequot Press in February, 2017. Her podcast, WAT-CAST, interviewing men and women making news, is available on Soundcloud and on iTunes. She is one of the producers for the film "Life After You," focusing on the opioid/heroin crisis that had its premiere at WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival, where it won two awards. The film is now available to view on Amazon Prime, YouTube, and other services. Charlene and her husband live in Manhattan.