Well, howdy. I’m Ashleyanne and I am proud to be the first writer to grace the page of the Women’s Independent Cinema Blog. In times like these it’s customary to crash a bottle of champagne on the vessel about to take to the seas… Well, my laptop can’t take much more moisture (The Great Chocolate Milk Massacre of 2007 saw to that), and I’d much rather just have the champagne in the bottle (and then inside my tummy) instead of all over my computer desk and carpet. So, I’ll forgo the celebratory measures and get straight to the meat and potatoes. I love writing, reading, and viewing anything that has to do with film. My goal as a guest writer for this blog is to share that love with you, and hopefully inspire you to take and active role in the independent film community – which could be as easy as watching a new, independent, female-produced film once a week (and what a coincidence that www.wicinema.com offers you four films every quarter.) This is our chance to chat, connect, become inspired by independent female voices in film and create a supportive community around our mutual interests and inspirations - and I’m so happy to be apart of it all.

At WICinema, we know the importance of community. Cinema and blogging are two of the best media forms to bring people together with, and hopefully we can enact a change within our own local, national, and even global communities through these means. Female filmmakers still comprise a minuscule percentage of paid professionals within the film industry. However, this does not mean that women in the world aren’t creating amazing, titillating, poignant, and high-quality films, the staggeringly low percentages only represent the small amount of women within the mainstream industry whom are designated and paid to do so. At WICinema, we want to highlight the independent, female cinematic voices that deserve to be acknowledged. We want to continually work towards shifting the restrictive paradigms that are still shutting women out of the film industry today. We want to inspire the desire for change, and as a company we want to act as a vessel for that change too. And, most importantly…

…We want you to join us along for the ride.

It’s time for you to read on, share your own thoughts and ideas and celebrate female-made film. This blog is your community; so don’t hesitate to share your opinions ideas. Now, let’s break out the champagne and start sailing the cinematic seas!

Respectfully,
Ashleyanne Krigbaum