Paul Feig Named Distinguished Artist by AFI Directing Workshop for Women
Today’s bit of good news: Paul Feig will continue bolstering women filmmakers. The “Ghostbusters” director is the AFI Conservatory Directing Workshop for Women’s (DWW) 2017 Distinguished Artist.
According to a press release from AFI, Feig earned this title by being “a longtime champion of female creators through his film and television work and his production banner Feigco Entertainment.”
The release also announced the 2017–2018 workshop participants: Beth de Araújo, Georgia Fu, Milena Govich, Tiffany Johnson, Katrelle Kindred, Nancy Mejía, Gandja Monteiro, and Lorraine Nicholson.
“To meet with this amazingly impassioned group of diverse, talented filmmakers is a dream come true,” Feig said in DWW kick-off event. “I salute the AFI for their strong support of female storytellers. We need their voices more than ever.”
DWW is a filmmaker training program “committed to increasing the number of women working as directors and showrunners in film and television.” The DWW Class of 2018 “will embark on a year of mentorship, collaboration, and creation to make a short film or series — all in preparation for professional success in narrative directing,” the press release summarizes.
Past DWW participants include Lesli Linka Glatter (AFI DWW, Class of 1983), producer/director of “Homeland”; Sian Heder (AFI DWW, Class of 2006), director of “Tallulah”; and Sarah Gertrude Shapiro (AFI DWW, Class of 2013), co-creator of “UnREAL.”
Feig made a name for himself in television by writing and directing on series like “Freaks and Geeks,” “Undeclared,” and “Arrested Development.” Recently, though, he has focused on directing films about women and written by women. Feig, with muse Melissa McCarthy, has previously helmed “Spy,” “The Heat,” and “Bridesmaids.” He is also set to direct a sequel to “The Heat” and is rumored to be the director of the untitled Mindy Kaling/Emma Thompson comedy. Feig even received the inaugural Athena Leading Man Award last year at the Athena Film Festival for his dedication to women-centric films.
The filmmaker’s commitment to promoting women’s stories hasn’t always been easy. He has said, “I’d had so many producers and stuff pull me aside and go like, ‘So, you don’t want to get pigeonholed into this. You’re going to be, like, this women’s director.’” Luckily, he didn’t listen and actually doubled down on his work with an equity clause requiring gender balance for minor roles.
Visit the AFI Conservatory website for more information on the DWW Class of 2018.
