How to nail your general meeting with development executive Jasmine Russ
Development executive Jasmine Russ joined Women's Weekend Film Challenge (WWFC) for a Q&A as part of WWFC's virtual workshop series.
In this interview, Jasmine shares how to best prepare for your general meeting and how to follow up to maximize your chances of landing a writing job.
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ABOUT JASMINE RUSS
Jasmine Russ is the VP of development & production at Fabel Entertainment (Bosch, The Killing, Interrogation). She began her career in Australia casting for film, TV and theater before transitioning to the US to continue her work. Jasmine began producing under Fabel's previous banner of Fabrik where she established her specialty in genre blending, subversive storytelling and first time creators. She currently has projects set up at Netflix, Amazon, IMDb and Hulu and continues to service Fabel's new genre agnostic brand with a focus on premium content.
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.