Women Make Movies
| Company type | Nonprofit organization |
|---|---|
| Industry | Media arts, Film distribution, Film production |
| Founded | September 1969 |
| Founder | Ariel Dougherty, Sheila Paige, Dolores Bargowski |
| Headquarters | New York City , United States |
Area served | International |
Key people | Debra Zimmerman (Executive Director since 1983) |
| Products | Film distribution, Film production support |
Women Make Movies is a feminist media arts nonprofit located in New York City. Established in September 1969 by Ariel Dougherty and Sheila Paige, alongside Dolores Bargowski, WMM originated as a feminist production collective formed during Women's Liberation gatherings. By 1973, the collective had completed four films. In March 1972, Dougherty and Paige formalized the group as a community workshop dedicated to teaching filmmaking to women, simultaneously initiating a distribution service designed as a revenue-generating program. During the mid-1970s, the organization introduced a membership system to facilitate the screening and dissemination of members' films. Transitioning in the early 1980s, WMM concentrated primarily on distributing independent films created by and about women, while continuing to offer production support for female filmmakers.
Film catalog
WMM offers distribution for more than 500 films produced by upwards of 400 women directors from close to 30 nations. Their collection addresses subjects including reproductive rights, AIDS, body image, economic development, racism, immigration, medical ethics, and global feminism. The catalog highlights works from influential feminist filmmakers such as Trinh T. Minh-ha, Julie Dash, Pratibha Parmar, Jane Campion, and Kim Longinotto.
Films handled by WMM have been showcased at prominent international festivals like the Sundance Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival, International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), and the Athena Film Festival. Their distributed titles have received notable honors including Sundance’s Special Jury Prize (for The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo and Rough Aunties), an Academy Award (Love & Diane), an Emmy (Quick Brown Fox: An Alzheimer's Story), and a Peabody Award (Sisters in Law). In recognition of its exceptional role in circulating films by and about women, WMM was awarded at the Athena Film Festival in 2011.
Broadcasts of WMM’s films have reached global audiences through cable and public television outlets such as HBO/Cinemax, PBS, Sundance Channel, and Brazil’s Rede Globo. Among their notable releases are Kim Longinotto’s Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go and Gemma Cubero and Celeste Carrasco’s Ella Es El Matador. The organization collaborates with institutions including the Public Broadcasting System, Hunter College, the Museum of Modern Art, and other media arts entities based in New York City.
Executive director
Since 1983, Debra Zimmerman has served as the executive director of Women Make Movies.
Archive
The Academy Film Archive safeguards the Women Make Movies Collection, which comprises prints, videotape masters, and original film elements encompassing numerous feature-length films, documentaries, shorts, and educational works created by and concerning women.