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I attended the Los Angeles Women’s International Film Festival tonight and was delighted that their opening night film was a documentary titled The Empowerment Project. The question they opened and closed the film with was What would you do if you weren’t afraid to fail?
The documentary chronicled an all woman film crew on a cross-country journey to capture the stories of 17 phenomenal women who aren’t in the limelight. Some of the women featured were
Vy Higginsen- Pioneer, Publisher, and Producer of the play Mama, I Want To Sing
Molly Barker- Founder of Girls On the Run
Admiral Michelle J. Howard- the first African-American and first woman to serve as 4 Star General in Navy history
Sandy Magnus-NASA Astronaut and Engineer
Co-Producer, Ashely Hammen and Director of Photography, Alana Fickes were on hand for a Q&A about the film and they shared some jewels they learned on the journey to make the film. Ashley described her time with Michelle J. Howard as “staring into the eyes of a lion” illustrating her fierce energy. They also spoke about the parity between men and women in the workforce. Although people see many women in their lives working, they are often in male dominated industries and earn less than their male counterparts.
What I took from this film is to live with no regrets and to do the things that seem impossible. To do the things that make you happy and to be ok if that passion isn’t a part of your career. At the end of the day “Do the best you can, then let it go,”- said Alana Fickes.
For more information of the film festival (which is running through March 22nd ) and The Empowerment Project visit:
http://www.lawomensfest.com
http://empowermentproject.com/
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