Straight Outta Money: Institutional Power and Independent Film Funding

In the last few years, and despite the increased prominence of American independent films, there have been surprisingly few feature films by women that have "made it" on the independent circuit. The success of an independet film can be considered by the following criteria: securing theatrical release, receiving critical and media attention, and obtaining visibility among audiences. The few films that come to mind as having met these criteria are Lizzie Borden's Working Girls (1986), distributed by Miramax; Julie Dash's Daughter's of the Dust (1991), a Kino release: and most recently, Allision Anders's gas, food, lodging (1992), released by I.R.S. Theatrically distributed independent films continue to be heavily dominated by the work of heterosexual white males. Further, no gesture has been made toward identifying women directors as a "new" or "emerging" film movement as has occurred, however superficially, with black and gay cinema. This situation of non-recognition exists despite increasing numbers of women making films and a cultural climate of heightened attention to diversity.