Women's Weekend Film Challenge co-founders Katrina Medoff & Tracy Sayre: NY1 interview
WWFC co-founders Katrina Medoff & Tracy Sayre were interviewed by NY1 leading up to the organizations summer 2022 film challenge screening in New York City.
To learn more about the organization and how you can get involved visit www.womensweekendfilmchallenge.com
ABOUT KATRINA MEDOFF & TRACY SAYRE
Katrina Medoff and Tracy Sayre are the co-founders of Women’s Weekend Film Challenge (WWFC), a social impact organization that works toward gender equity in the film and television industry. Katrina and Tracy, who became fast friends after meeting through the NYC indie film world, work tirelessly to help thousands of women build networks and break down barriers. Through WWFC’s signature film challenge, Katrina and Tracy have worked with 700 professional female filmmakers in NYC and LA to produce 30 short films, which have been screened at 90 film festivals and counting. In 2021, Katrina and Tracy launched WWFC’s Pilot Accelerator to address gender disparity in TV writers rooms. Through this program, Katrina and Tracy selected eight fellows from over 700 submissions, coached them on their pitches during a three-week intensive, and set up over 60 pitch meetings with executives from HBO, Netflix, Warner Bros., Comedy Central and more. Through their virtual workshop series, Katrina and Tracy have interviewed the top women of Hollywood, including showrunners, directors of blockbuster films and more. Their work with WWFC has been featured in outlets including Variety, Deadline, “Good Day LA” and KCRW, LA’s NPR station, and they have been invited to speak at conferences, film festivals, schools and universities.
ABOUT WOMEN'S WEEKEND FILM CHALLENGE
Women's Weekend Film Challenge (WWFC) works for gender equity by creating opportunities for women to bring their leadership, talents, and stories to the forefront of the film industry. WWFC places professional filmmakers on crews to write, shoot and edit a short film in one weekend and provides top-of-the-line equipment, insurance and workshops. This career-building opportunity is free for participants.
Since its first challenge in January 2018, WWFC has worked with over 700 women to produce 30 short films, which have been accepted to more than 90 festivals. This grassroots, bi-coastal movement combats the gender imbalance of the film industry by providing an intensive networking experience and telling women's stories on screen.
As a response to COVID-19, WWFC launched a popular virtual workshop series featuring Hollywood powerhouses in every role of production, such as Elle Johnson (co-showrunner, "Self Made"), Kasi Lemmons (writer/director, "Harriet"), Catherine Hardwicke (director, "Twilight"), Alma Har'el (director, "Honey Boy"), DeMane Davis (showrunner, "Queen Sugar"), Leslye Headland (co-creator, "Russian Doll"), Terilyn Shropshire (editor, "The Old Guard"), Alice Wu (director, "The Half of It") and many more.
Recently, WWFC launched a brand-new pilot accelerator designed both to help emerging writers advance their careers and to increase the representation of women and non-binary people in television. This program is geared toward writers with strong, completed pilot scripts who lack the industry connections to sell their series or break into the writers room. With the help of a panel of prestigious industry judges, WWFC selects 6-8 fellows to participate in a three-week intensive and have the opportunity to pitch to HBO, HBO Max, Netflix, Comedy Central, Warner Bros. Television, Berlanti Productions, Sid Gentle Films, Element Pictures, Broadway Video, Jax Media, Fabel, Tornante, Good Fear Content, Semi-Formal Productions and more.