LOS ANGELES, MAY 19, 2022 – In an effort to improve equality on set and provide women with tangible career boosting opportunities, Cinelease recently donated substantial lighting and grip packages to Women In Film (WIF), a nonprofit dedicated to the advancement of women in the industry.
“The quality of our film was greatly improved because of Cinelease’s kind and generous donation,” said Patricia Seely, WIF Shorts Lab Fellow and director/writer of Please In Spanish. “Their support significantly enhanced my Women In Film fellowship.”
This donation marks the fourth consecutive year Cinelease has gifted lighting and grip packages to the LA-based organization, supporting ten short films.
“The impact has a ripple effect,” said Chris Rogers, Cinelease Vice President of Marketing. “There are many barriers to entry in our industry and we’re proud to be able to support WIF and the opportunities it offers women through this annual donation of lighting and grip equipment.”
Over the course of two weekends in May, three teams of female filmmakers and non-binary creatives utilized Cinelease lighting and grip equipment to create three unique short films for the WIF Shorts LAB supported by Google, in locations throughout the greater Los Angeles area. The program pairs each team with mentors and the final films produced are owned by the filmmakers and eligible for festival submissions and award consideration. Take a look behind the scenes of the project, in this WIF Recap Video created by Rebel Media, a women-owned marketing agency.
“The team at Cinelease has been wonderful, this film would have never been possible without their support,” said Mireia Vilanova, Producer of Silverlake Cleaners.
After making their annual donation to WIF’s recent programs across Los Angeles, Cinelease is preparing a similar donation of lighting and grip packages for the East Coast program, Women’s Weekend Film Challenge, which boosts female representation both behind of and in front of the camera. Cinelease will leverage resources from its Brooklyn and New Jersey locations to put gear in the hands of women who might not otherwise have access or the opportunity to utilize top-of-the-line lighting and grip equipment.
As the industry leader in lighting and grip, Cinelease has a long history of giving back to the community. From its humble roots as a “mom and pop shop” 45 years ago, to building decades long relationships with organizations that support safer sets and such as Safety for Sarah, Cinelease is dedicated to elevating women’s careers by promoting from within, and understands the immense value women bring to the film and entertainment industry.
As a regular sponsor of local film festivals and nonprofits that empower women in film, Cinelease leverages the international breadth of its presence to make a positive impact on the industry.
“One of the biggest challenges of being an emerging filmmaker is not having the resources to produce a film with a high quality look, having Cinelease as one of the sponsors definitely helped our production obtain the level of quality we were seeking. They were also a very accommodating and pleasant team to work with,” said Kameishia Wooten, Writer/Director of Choices.
Cinelease congratulated Lizzette Feliciano for being awarded the California Bay Area Filmmaking Award at the 2021 Sonoma International Film Festival, for creating Women is Losers, a coming of age drama produced with Cinelease lighting and grip equipment. The Award included a Cinelease lighting and grip package aiming at enriching the filmmaking experience in the San Francisco Bay Area.
“As a producer, I like to work with companies whose values align with mine, so Cinelease’s commitment to supporting emerging filmmakers makes a big difference,” said Mireia Vilanova, Producer of Silverlake Cleaners.
Cinelease, backed by its Fortune 1000 parent company, Herc Rentals, Inc. works in tandem with Herc Entertainment Services to promote safer sets and an inclusive industry. Recently, Herc Rentals proudly reported that 22% of its board are women, and the numbers for women in leadership roles are on the rise across all branches. With a concerted effort to empower women, the companies collectively put a focus on hiring, mentoring, and promoting women, which is best exemplified by their unique Women in Action program.
Cinelease Studios, a branch of Cinelease further curates the filmmaking experience by providing top tier studio properties and stage management services across the United States.
“In 2023, our Studio Management Division is launching a new campaign, Women of Cinelease, showcasing the achievements and contributions of the women at Cinelease Studios,” said Crystal Marshall, Sales Director at Cinelease. “They have a talented and experienced team, many of whom happen to be women, and it’s important to highlight that when in our industry, it’s pretty unusual.”
Across the board, Cinelease contributes to making the film and entertainment industry more inclusive by being a proud supporter of women in film. Learn more about what makes Cinelease the industry leading provider of lighting and grip equipment on their website.
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About Cinelease:
Industry Lighting and Grip gold standard since its creation in 1977, Cinelease Inc.’s intent has been to serve and deliver the best in quality lighting and grip equipment, power distribution, grip trucks, expendables and sound stages to both small and large-scale productions. Wherever the productions go – we will be there to greet them. Whatever the job, wherever the shoot, there’s one clear choice.
About Cinelease Studios:
Cinelease Studios is a unique studio management team that was created as a natural extension of the respected Cinelease and Herc Entertainment names. Combining a shared history of serving the film and entertainment industry for 45 years, Cinelease Studios has created a pathway to the most exclusive studio experience. With unique studios conveniently located in film-friendly cities throughout the United States, our team unites Cinelease’s unmatched customer service and vast stock of lighting and grip equipment, with the reliability and convenience of in-house Herc Entertainment heavy equipment, climate control and power solutions.
About Herc Entertainment Services:
Emerging from the demand for content creation in the 1980’s as a division of Fortune 1000 company Herc Rentals, Herc Entertainment Services began tailoring equipment inventories and acquiring assets to better serve the needs of the film and entertainment industry. With safety and customer service as top priorities, Herc rents and delivers unique equipment, for productions of any scale.
https://www.hercrentals.com/us/solutions/entertainment.html
About Herc Rentals Inc.:
As the largest equipment rental company in North America, Herc Rentals serves a broad range of markets and industries, including film and entertainment, construction, and large industrial projects. Herc Rentals is committed to recruiting diverse candidates and maintaining a culture of inclusion. To support this goal, two of Herc Rentals’ professional recruiters earned AIRS Certified Diversity Recruiter (CDR) certification in 2020. In 2020, people of color represented approximately 29% of Herc’s overall workforce, about 15% of managerial roles at the company, and 11% of the Herc Rentals Senior Leadership Team (SLT). In keeping with our commitment to diversity and inclusion, we seek to advance opportunities for women in our company and, by extension, the equipment rental industry. As of the end of 2020, women represented nearly 12% of our workforce and 16% of all managerial roles. At a senior level, women now account for 37% of the SLT and three women (30%) serve as independent, nonexecutive members of Herc Holdings Inc.’s Board of Directors. (source: Herc 2021 Citizenship Report).
About Women In Film:
Founded in 1973 as Women In Film Los Angeles, WIF advocates for and advances the careers of women working in the screen industries—in front of and behind the camera, across all levels of experience—to achieve parity and transform culture. We work to change culture through our distinguished programs, including mentoring, speaker and screening series, a shorts production lab, writing labs, producer training, a sexual harassment help line, and an annual financing intensive. WIF advocates for gender
parity through research, education, and media campaigns. And, we build a community centered around these goals, anchored by our signature events, including the WIF Annual Gala and Oscar Nominees Party, along with programs honoring the achievements of women in Hollywood, like the Legacy Series. Membership is open to all screen industry professionals and more information can be found online at http://www.wif.org/
About Women’s Weekend Film Challenge:
Women’s Weekend Film Challenge works for gender equity by creating opportunities for women and non-binary people to bring their leadership, talents, and stories to the forefront of the film and television industry. WWFC was founded by Katrina Medoff and Tracy Sayre in 2017 to address the lack of diversity behind the camera and on screen. The organization has produced 30 short films with more than 700 professional female filmmakers. In 2020, WWFC established a virtual workshop series that provides career advice from the top women of Hollywood. WWFC launched a brand-new pilot accelerator designed both to help emerging writers advance their careers and to increase the representation of women and non-binary people in television.
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