This past Sunday, the Motion Picture Editors Guild’s (MPEG) Women’s Steering Committee held an event honoring their female Emmy-nominated post-professionals. Aimee Jennings is the new chair of the committee. She first joined WSC to foster more community in the isolation of the pandemic with some successful events that brought together women in a field that is still predominantly male. Jennings adds, “It was important to me to get involved with the amazing group of women. As much as I am an introvert, I do enjoy making people happy and planning events.”
Jennings did such a great job that the WSC chairs passed the baton to her to lead the group along with Diana Fishman in 2022.
The WSC is a division of the Diversity Committee designed to foster a culture that is welcoming, equitable, and respectful and ensures the inclusion and collaboration of all members. Jennings elaborates, “As a chair, it’s our responsibility to focus on enriching our female members, professionally and personally. After learning some rather disappointing statistics collected in 2020 on the drop off of women in our guild during their prime earning years compared to men during those same years, we decided to do something.” This year they launched the Lift Up Women Mentorship Program, a one-on-one year-long program tailored to support local 700 women at all levels.
This Emmy Season was a watershed moment for the group when a staggering 58 women (including Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, and Picture Editors) were honored with nominations, including Stephanie Filo who has 3 nominations in one year. There were so many women nominated this year that some of the categories were predominantly women. Jennings enthuses, “I hope producers take note of these achievements and look to hire more women in all categories of post-production. We are good editors that win your programs awards.”
This all culminated in this week’s event celebrating the nominees at the Chado Tea Room in Downtown Los Angeles. Despite the Emmys being postponed to next year, the event was well attended and jubilant. They wanted something easy and simple that women could casually mix with no pressure.
With over 50 attendees, a blend of nominees and WSC members and staff mingled over delicious sandwiches, scones, and a wonderful selection of fine teas. It was a nice celebration of everything that they have collectively achieved with an eye to the future. It was a lovely place for artists to connect, where gifted storytellers were encouraged to come together and share their passions for storytelling.
Nominees in attendance: Ailene Roberts, Alyson Dee Moore, Amber Funk, Ana Francesca Castro, Angel Gamboa Bryant, Emily Mendez, Jamie Martin, Katie Halliday, Laura Wiest, Laura Zempel, Lena Glikson-Nezhelskaya, Malinda Zehner Guerra, Margit Pfeiffer, Melissa McCoy, Nancy Parker, Nona Khodai, Pamela Marshall, Peggy Tachdijian, Penny Harold, Sabrina Plisco, Sonya Lindsay, Stephanie Filo, Yana Gorskaya, Taylor Mason. WSC Steering Committee members: Julie Antepli, Joanie Diener, Lindsay Armstrong, Dorian Harris, Sharon Smith-Holley, Amy Duddelston… and also Olivia Eliseo who designed all the event flyers and advertising.
Sharon Smith-Holley and Dorian Harris collected some amazing raffle prizes from Avid, Adobe, and Keycode.
Congratulations to all the nominees and the WSC for another successful event.
