by Jasmine Davis

As I’m sure you know if you visit Film Annex, Hollywood isn’t the end-all-be-all of filmmaking. In fact, there’s a rich world of independent films with outside financing. That’s good news, particularly for women filmmakers who often get their start in the world of independent film. A recent article in Businessweek talks about the challenges women face when trying to find financing for their films. It turns out, it’s not as simple as a “man turns down woman filmmaker because of gender” story. In fact, one of the female producers they interviewed had this to say: ““I just feel like you can’t trust women you don’t know, but you can trust a man.”

Female empowerment through filmmaking, it seems, isn’t just a male-to-female issue. It’s far more complex than that. However, as the article points out, more and more women are going to college and graduate school for filmmaking and may well hold the power in Hollywood soon. This could very well be a global phenomenon. As you know, the Afghan Development Project is giving education in Afghanistan an update by helping schools add filmmaking and social media to their curriculum. Hollywood film makers should look out - there could be a new and entirely diverse crop of filmmakers coming through the rankings soon.

Of course, using online film distribution is another solution to filmmakers’ funding woes. Rather than seeking distribution through traditional channels, using an online video platform can help filmmakers get a wider audience while also garnering money for funding future films. It’s the tenants that Film Annex is built on. Female filmmakers no longer have to rely on Hollywood as their sole source of funding in the film world.

Expanding the world of distribution to the Internet has allowed many different filmmakers, including women, to seek an audience outside of the mainstream. Fueling independent films like this has given women a chance to tell their stories through film. It’s my hope that initiatives like the Afghan Development Project will help bring not just women, but also people from other countries, to the forefront. I’d love to see a more inclusive, more well-rounded Hollywood that tells a variety of stories.