O Pioneers!
Written by Shannon O'Neill | Posted by: Anonymous
The Image Awards were conceived as a way to honor the individuals whose "creative achievements have helped advance the image of women both in front of and behind the camera." Women in Film and Video/New England, a chapter of the International Women in Film Organization, was founded in 1981 out of a need to form a professional association for women working in the local film community — from animators to designers to technicians. Serving as a frequent sponsor to local discussions, panels and events has also heightened the profile of the organization since its inception (at a meeting in a room at the Fairmont Copley no less) nearly 20 years ago. As a nonprofit organization that promotes the participation, education and representation of women in the film and video industry, the Image Awards was certainly not the brainchild of a splashy benefit organization. It is this sentiment, which stems from a commitment to use film and video as a tool not only to create but empower the community, which has led WIFV/NE filmmakers to volunteer their time to organizations such as The Big Sister Association and also to educating local high school girls in production techniques and careers in film and video.
Though the local film community in New England is certainly burgeoning and home to other media award events, including the regional Emmys and the New England Film and Video Festival, WIFV/NE noticed an achievement recognition niche that had yet to be filled: New England women working in the film and video industries. In 1997, while serving as the executive director of WIFV/NE, local producer and screenwriter Rebecca Richards pooled her frustration with those of her board of directors, and together they came up with a plan to honor these individuals who were not only shaping the image of women on both sides of the camera, but also negotiating the often harrowing identity triangle of mother, wife and career.
By July 1997, encouraged by the successful awards held by the New York and Los Angeles WIFV chapters, the Boston chapter decided to revamp the dormant Women in Film and Video/New England Image Awards as a high-profile, celebratory benefit fund-raiser. Pooling the talents of various members and recruiting fellow member Sally Fay Cottingham, already a successful co-chair of Literary Lights, a Boston Public Library benefit which honors New England writers, WIFV/NE got the ball rolling. Honorees Julia Child and Katharine Ross at the first Image Awards for Excellence and Vision Gala 1999 generated a healthy media buzz. In spite of the glare of the media, the import of the event was not lost on the local community: These awards honored women who were not only individual successes, but who were also inspirational to other women in the business.
The Image Awards 2000 will honor six local women who have not only built careers in a daunting industry for women, but who have made valuable contributions to the New England film and television community as a whole. The awards, designed with the help of Cartier jewelers, will be presented in the categories of Vision and Achievement, Lifetime Achievement and WIFV/NE Member Achievement. Honorees at this year’s event include Rebecca Eaton, executive producer of WGBH’s "ExxonMobil Masterpiece Theatre" and "Mystery!"; Michal Goldman, documentary filmmaker and founder of the Boston Jewish Film Festival and founder and president of the Filmmakers Collaborative; Judy Richardson, former writer/producer at Blackside, Inc., where she helped develop the landmark civil rights series "Eyes on the Prize" and the Peabody and Emmy award-winning documentary "Malcolm X: Make It Plain"; Connie White and Marianne Lampke, co-directors of the Brattle Theatre and Beacon Cinema Group and co-founders of the Boston International Festival of Women’s Cinema and the Provincetown Film Festival; and Michele LaMura, founder of online independent filmmaking community sites NewEnglandFilm.com and BuyIndies.com, as well as being a leading expert in defining the future of independent film on the Internet.
For more information about the event, contact Rebecca Richards at recrich@aol.com or visit their web site at http://www.womeninfilmvideo.org.
