Film-Making Event Boosts Marginalized Genders

Making films is something I’ve always dreamed of doing. Up until this year, I had effectively shoved that dream into a closet and wrote it off as impractical, just a hobby, and nothing more than a silly dream.

I spent most of my young adult life searching for a practical career that would satiate that dream, and I found no luck. Every “good” job I found eventually made me sick, and the stress and demands of the job were never worth the salary. 

Then I discovered the Integrated Media Video program at Mt. Hood Community College. Suddenly, what once seemed like an impractical, unattainable path unfolded before me like the yellow brick road before Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz.” I enrolled, and I’ve been thoroughly enjoying it! 

I decided to branch out into the world of filmmaking and see if there were any other people like me. Naturally, I took to Facebook and began joining any and every film-focused group I could find. I found groups for low budget filmmaking, no-budget filmmaking, and finally the group that led me to the feature of this story – Women in Film-PDX. I was super excited to find a group specifically geared toward women in the industry. 

A week or so after joining, I kept seeing promotions for an event at OpenSignal, a community media center in Northeast Portland: “Lights, Camera, Connection!” was an event centered around women and nonbinary filmmakers. Typically, I would be way too shy to attend a networking event. I would think to myself; “I’m a beginner, what do I have to offer?!”

Regardless, I swallowed my pride and made a donation to OpenSignal, which secured me a spot at the event. 

I’m so glad I did! The event was a ton of fun. The first official act of the day was a performance from Portland cellist Valdine Ritchie Mishkin. She played beautiful melodies on her cello with inspiring stories behind why she began playing music, and why she chose the pieces she chose for the day. 

There was a delicious brunch spread, with fruit, waffles, coffee, tea, and even a mimosa bar. Before all the speakers began, OpenSignal staff gathered a group of attendees who were interested in practicing some acting, working with studio cameras, lights, and other equipment on a delightfully campy soap opera: Pop Star Passions. I chose to be a camera operator for the first round, and had so much fun working with everyone. 

After the studio fun, I sat down to watch a screening presented by the Indigenous Media Guild. They showed us a trailer for “Why am I Trans” and a short film titled “Warrior Women.”

They also offered free professional headshots for attendees.

A few of the speakers in attendance were local writer and director Dawn Jones Redstone, “Consent on Set” educator Windy Borman, and emerging filmmaker Nsayi Matingou.

Attendees also had an opportunity to connect with local organizations that included Outside the Frame, Oregon Media Production Association, Oh!Creative, Catalyst Film Collective, and Desert Island Studios. 

All in all, it was a wonderful event and it was so nice to be surrounded by and connect with other women and marginalized genders in the film industry. I look forward to more events from OpenSignal in the future!