Vimeo, in an effort to help close the gender-equality gap in the entertainment industry, announced today from the 2016 Sundance Film Festival “Share the Screen,” a three-part initiative to elevate and empower female filmmakers. The program aims to foster gender equality with a financial commitment to invest in female-led programming, educational workshops and onsite promotions spotlighting female voices.
“One of the best things about our platform is that it’s open to everyone, and we’re proud to say that we have many amazing female filmmakers building their careers on Vimeo,” said Kerry Trainor, CEO, Vimeo. “It’s extremely unfortunate that the traditional industry has allowed things to be out of balance for so long, in terms of equality of opportunity for men and women, but it’s very exciting that Vimeo can do something to help correct that imbalance.”
Vimeo is proud to kick off its “Share the Screen” program with its first Original short, “Darby Forever,” written by and starring breakout “Saturday Night Live” cast member Aidy Bryant, bowing to global audiences on February 18th. In pre-order today at vimeo.com/darbyforever, Bryant plays Darby, a shop-girl at “Bobbins & Notions,” a fabric store in a nameless town that is both ordinary and bizarre. The customers she encounters in the shop spark colorful daydreams as Darby looks for independence and maybe finds love with deliveryman, Nick (Luka Jones). Darby Forever also features Retta (“Parks and Recreation”) and Natasha Lyonne (“Orange is the New Black”).
As part of its commitment to industry change, Vimeo will invest in a minimum of five projects from female voices in 2016 — a significant increase from the two original titles funded in 2015. The projects will receive dedicated marketing support and global distribution on Vimeo On Demand. As a supporter of Sundance Institute, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing the work of filmmakers and storytellers worldwide, Vimeo will also provide educational seminars throughout the year at various Sundance #ArtistServices workshops, aligning with the Institute’s effort to create broader industry change with its own Women’s Initiative.
Lastly, Vimeo will commit to promoting female voices across the site with a new “Share the Screen” spotlight on the Vimeo blog and a continuously updated and celebrated “Female-Directed, Vimeo-Approved” VOD collection available here: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/discover/femaledirected. The collection includes: Crystal Moselle’s “Wolfpack,” Mélanie Laurent’s “Breathe,” Lucy Walker’s “The Crash Reel,” Penny Lane’s “Our Nixon,” and more.
