WOMENS VOICES NOW INC

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Grant Year

2025-26

Grant Program

General Operating Support

Award Amount

$12,600.00

Project Description

Women’s Voices Now (WVN) addresses the exclusion of women from film by combining access, education, amplification, and community engagement. We request $30,000 from the California Arts Council to support staff, stipends, and supplies for our programs: the WVN Film Festival, which uplifts women filmmakers through cash prizes, visibility, and global distribution; Girls’ Voices Now (GVN), an intensive filmmaking and youth development program for girls from underrepresented Los Angeles communities; and the Voices for Change Film Collection, a free digital collection of over 340 socially impactful films. Each program incorporates in-person screenings in LA, bringing local and global issues to California audiences. These initiatives build lasting skills, promote authentic storytelling, and spark public dialogue. WVN fosters a more inclusive media landscape by creating college and career pathways in film and using storytelling for social change.

Organization Summary

We empower filmmakers, produce social-change films, and engage audience members to advance girls’ and women’s rights through our three core programs:

1. WVN Online Film Festival
An annual film festival supporting emerging documentary filmmakers by providing cash prizes, visibility, and connections to film industry professionals. Since 2011, we have received 1,382 film submissions from 97 countries, and we have awarded $156,500 in cash prizes.

2. Girls’ Voices Now – Youth Development through Arts Education and Empowerment
Our youth development program empowers the next generation of youth from under-resourced communities to find, develop, and use their voice for social change through filmmaking. Since 2018, we have served 104 girls from under-resourced LA communities and produced 28 youth-made short films seen by 4.3M+ online viewers. Films produced in this program have gone on to win awards, including festivals and two Emmy nominations (1 win!)

3. Voices For Change: A free film collection advocating for women’s and girls’ rights
Collection of films about women raises awareness of the struggles and triumphs of women and girls around the globe, inviting audience members to contribute to social change supportive of their human rights. Features 340+ films in 50 different languages about women’s and girls’ stories and rights globally. We partner with local organizations to co-facilitate 145+ in-person and virtual screening events and conversations in 15+ countries with 50+ field partners, including universities, nonprofit organizations and international organizations. We also promote these films for individuals to stream for free online through thorough online marketing campaigns (reaching 8.2M+ online viewers globally in 2024 alone!)

Organization