Shana Betz: Cultivator of Female Filmmaker Initiatives, Director of Untold Stories
Shana Betz is the co-president and founder of The Chimaera Project.
America Young: Ass-Kicking Filmmaker and Stuntwoman Punching for Parity in Action Films
Jumping from atop buildings, kicking the tar out of superheroes, and setting herself on fire, award-winning filmmaker and stuntwoman America Young still finds time to run The Chimaera Project.
Sonja Mereu: Inspirer of Intersectionality, Real-and-Raw Film Fan
Sonja Mereu created the Los Angeles Diversity Film Festiva to help storytellers premiere their voice without judgment and stereotypes.
John Oursler: The Fond-of-Arts Fundraiser Behind Boundary-Pushing Filmmakers of the Future
John Oursler is the senior associate director of development at The School of the Arts at Columbia University.
Patrice Francois: Stories From Female Filmmakers
Patrice is the founder of Imagine This Women’s International Film Festival (ITWIFF) which celebrates under-the-radar voices and stories from female filmmakers.
Catherine Delaloye: Film Festival Groundbreaker for Females
The founder and executive director of Female Voices Rock scaled the mountainous task of starting and running a film festival…and in just two short years it’s become one of the Top 100 Film Festivals in the World.
Carrie Gergely: Superstar Showrunner Growing Diverse Sketch Stories One Inclusive Script at a Time
Carrie Gergely is the interim managing director at The Groundlings Theatre and School
Maikiko James: Parity Programming Powerhouse, Representation Reformer, Improv Enthusiast
Meet Makiko James, director of programs at Women in Film (WIF)
Damien Navarro: Full-Time Fighter for Diverse Queer Films, Part-Time Farmer
Decades of building an award-winning digital marketing and technology agency led Damien Navarro into perfect timing for the executive director role at Outfest.
Community Support
Calling all champions of diversity.
We’re partnering with champions of diversity, equity and inclusion who feel, as we do, that film is a lens that recognizes and promotes the dignity of others.
Our support will take several forms: We’re establishing financial grants with organizations such as Outfest’s Screenwriting Lab , Women in Film, and The Groundlings; we’re providing resources to film festivals like the Los Angeles Diversity Film Festival; and we’re using our network to support the activities of organizations that open doors for disenfranchised storytellers from underrepresented communities.
If you are a festival director or part of an organization that supports BIPOC, emerging, LGBTQ+, seniors, women, or underrepresented/disenfranchised filmmakers, we’d like to hear from you.
Incorporate or
form a LLC
Companies for Underrepresented Filmmakers.
We’re substantially discounting our rates for disenfranchised storytellers from underrepresented communities. If you are ready to incorporate, you can get started here.
And for participants in Outfest’s Screenwriter’s Lab and the Women in Film Emerging Producer program, we forming companies for free. And free means free — we’ll pay the filing fees and we will customize the corporate documents, just like we do for all of our paying clients.
To be considered for a free corporation (1) you need to have a trailer and show you are serious about your project, (2) you need to have an accountant, (3) you must live in California, New York, or Texas, and (4) we’d ask that you tell your audience about our offer so we can help other filmmakers for free.
We proudly support organizations that amplify the voices of women, seniors, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and emerging filmmakers.
