What do you hope to achieve with Women Under The Influence?

Lack of visibility feeds into a lot of the negative misconceptions about female directors - mainly the subtly held belief that we are not as good! It has been proven time and time again that positive role models encourage people to take up certain careers. So, the more visible they are, the more young women will be encouraged to take up the profession (as directors but also as crew and directors of photography and other traditionally male-dominated paths).

It's really important for the careers of many talented women who were stilted for lack of opportunity, but more profoundly that a society where the majority of the population (women) continually have their stories told through a different perspective (men's) in film and leads to a distorted perspective of the world. And it's to share the many rad films and stories of kick-ass female directors who have had to go the extra mile to get their voices heard.

The most common comment people make when I tell them about the project - even from supposedly clued up male directors and people in the industry - is “won’t you run out of directors? There are only about seven aren’t there?” It happens all the time and assures me of the need for the project.

Why did you start Women Under The Influence in the first place?

I watched a documentary about Frances Marion, this wonderfully inspiring woman who was one of the main players in the birth of Hollywood, but no one has really heard of her. It made me want to tell more stories of these inspiring women who completely dispel the ridiculous myth that women can’t do certain types of jobs. I also wanted to start a screening night that would be a great excuse for filmmakers to get together. We don't get the opportunity very often.