DGA DIRECTORS SUPPORTING DGA WOMEN DIRECTORS
DGA DIRECTORS SUPPORTING DGA WOMEN DIRECTORS
OUR STORY
The WSC Squad aims to support and prepare the DGA Women’s Steering Committee members as they seek to advance their directing careers by providing valuable tools and information to strengthen their craft. The co-chairs of The WSC Squad will select up to twelve participants from our pool of DGA director applicants. Each participant will be paired with one specially-curated-for-them mentor. We will pair Squad mentees with DGA director mentors who advise them in the specific areas of craft and career. In addition, the Squad leadership team hosts monthly professional development events.
This program is open to mid-career directors who work in features, TV, docs, and/or commercials. Mid-career or mid-level director is defined as someone who (a) is a DGA member; (b) has worked in a professional capacity in the film/television industry for at least five years and (c) has directed something in the last two years that has been publicly released (ie on television/streaming, in a theater and/or in a festival competition).
There will be two required sessions per month: that will consist of 1:1 meetings with your mentor, group meetings with all the mentees and group meetings with special guest speakers and panelists. The program cycle lasts nine months in total. There is no fee to participate or to apply.
This program is open to any DGA WSC member.
Visit the APPLICATION PAGE for more information and to apply.
For more information please email TheWSCSquad@gmail.com
THE FOUNDING OF THE DGA WSC
HISTORY
The Women’s Steering Committee (WSC) was the first inclusion committee at the DGA founded in 1979 to research hiring practices of women in our industry. While there have been many gains over the years, we stand on the shoulders of the women before us -- there is still need for mentoring programs like the SQUAD.
In 2020, The DGA Women’s Steering Committee Co-Chairs MARIA BURTON, HANELLE CULPEPPER, and TARA MIELE saw the need within their committee for a mentorship program, unique to the needs of women directors. Inspired by The African American Steering Committee's The Learning Tree and The Latino Committee's Los Directores, the women rallied support and ideas from an array of WSC members. The group lobbied for a program that could speak to the specific challenges and discriminations that women face in Hollywood. They also yearned to foster deeper connection and community among female directors. Thus the WSC Squad was born.
Then, Directors and first cycle leaders MAUREEN BHAROOCHA, DANI DECARLO, AMBER SEALEY, LENA KHAN and AMY ANIOBI built the SQUAD -- they crafted a peer to peer mentorship program for mid-level directors that would be as effective as possible in helping women break through to top tier work. With this in mind, the Squad stayed small and nimble. The Leaders choose a small group of mentees so they can pair each of them with their ideal mentor. They also host a series of intimate, frank conversations with top tier women directors and foster open dialogue and resource sharing among the Squad members. The graduates will attest that this program has made a real difference in their lives and livelihoods. Now going into the fifth cycle, the Squad has moved the needle toward equality and helped bring representative justice behind the camera.
