Women in Media Hosted Pre-Party for Etheria Film Night & Stephanie Rothman Fellowship Gala

    LOS ANGELES, CA, June 29, 2018 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Women in Media (WiM) hosted Etheria Film Night's pre-party and the Stephanie Rothman Fellowship Gala at Taix Restaurant in Los Angeles on June 15th, 2015. The party included an interview with Stephanie Rothman conducted by Rebekah McKendry. The panel included Genre Filmmakers Rebekah McKendry, Chelsea Stardust, Paula Haifley, Julie Berghoff, Claire Flewin, and was moderated by Alyse Wax. The Stephanie Rothman Fellowship is for women film students who are, or want to, make horror, science fiction, action, fantasy, and thriller films. Portions of the proceeds were donated to the Stephanie Rothman Fellowship. Etheria is a showcase of new horror, comedy, science fiction, fantasy, action, and thriller films made by emerging women directors.

Stephanie Rothman is an American film director, producer and screenwriter, known for her low-budget independent exploitation films made in the 1960s and 1970s, including The Student Nurses (1970), The Velvet Vampire (1971), and Terminal Island (1974). Rothman was asked what advice she would give to new filmmakers interested in making Genre films stated, "The fact that an organization like this (WiM) even exists is miraculous to me. I don't think I can give any advice beyond the usual clichés. Follow your vision. Even if you can't initially make what you want, try as hard as you can because if you care that much about it, that's what you'll probably be best at doing. The other piece of advice, women who become successful, don't turn your back on other women. Give them a helping hand."

Paula Haifley is a Producer whose focus is animation. She is a Producer on DC Super Hero Girls (2016-2018) and was an Associate producer on the show from (2015-2016). She was also a Production Manager on the shows Teen Titans Go! (2014-2015) and Mad (2011-2013). Haifley was speaking on the issue of diversity on her show, DC Super Hero Girls. Haifley stated, "Seeing these little girls dressed like our characters, and saying they can do anything they want to do... it's been the hardest I have worked and the most rewarding."

Rebekah McKendry is a film director, producer, film journalist, and academic. She is best known for her work on Tales of Halloween (2015) and All the Creatures Were Stirring (2017). She worked as the Director of Marketing for Fangoria and is the Editor-in-Chief of Blumhouse.com. She also hosts a podcast for Blumhouse called Shock Waves. McKendry is currently a professor at USC School of Cinematic Arts.

Chelsea Stardust is a Director and Producer. She is the former assistant to Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions. She has a feature coming out in 2018 called Seeing Green (2018). When asked about gender parity in the crew, Chelsea stated, "All my department heads were women in my film. I wanted whoever was best for the job, and they all happened to be women."

Julie Berghoff is an award winning Production Designer. She won an Emmy in 2017 and an Art Directors Guild award in 2018 for The Handmaids Tale (2017-2018). She has also worked on Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams (2017-2018), The Conjuring (2013), and The Conjuring 2 (2016) among others. Julie spoke about why she decided to be a Production Designer, "For me, it's the world-building. Your imagination can go anywhere you want it to go and is guided by your Director and all the other influences, but you are part of it. The camaraderie of storytelling is so exciting and thrilling…You can go any place you want!"

Claire Flewin has worked in the industry for more than 20 years starting at Jim Henson's Creature shop, and is now the Head of Fabrication for Spectral Motion. She has worked on the TV show Stranger Things (2016) as the Creature Fabrication Department Head. Her vast credits include the film Hellboy (2004) and Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013). On wanting to see more women making it in the film industry, "We need to see ourselves as successful and powerful, because we are. Women always tend to put themselves down. We need to know we are as good when we are up for a job. Be Strong! We need to see ourselves differently."

Alyse Wax has been working in entertainment journalism for over a decade. She is the former associate editor of FEARnet.com. Alyse currently freelances for a number of sites, including Blumhouse.com and ComingSoon.net. Her first book, "Curious Goods: Behind the Scenes of Friday the 13th: The Series" was published in 2016 by Bear Manor Media. Alyse spent a number of years as a television producer and various other positions, working on shows like Big Brother (2004), Penn & Teller: Off the Deep End (2005) and Punkin' Chunkin' (2008).

Women In Media is a 501(c)(3) that encourages gender balance in film and entertainment industries by providing networking, professional development, and advocacy for above and below the line women and all genders who love making movies with them. Women In Media is an intersectional group of women and woman identifying crew members in the film, television, and new media industries. They are known for their female crew list. For more information on Women In Media including sponsorship opportunities, please go to www.womennmedia.com.

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