Alliance of Women Directors (AWD) was founded in 1997 by alumnae of the American Film Institute’s Directing Workshop for Women as a community of peers to share information and support one another’s career advancement. In the decades since our inception, our values have remained the same. Today, we are a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to achieving gender parity in the entertainment industry by substantially increasing the number of working women and gender-expansive directors.
As an inclusive collective of more than 800 professional women and gender-expansive directors and allies, we work together to affect positive, lasting change in the entertainment industry. We are relentless advocates for gender parity and believe it is vital that stories are told from all perspectives because representation matters.
As an organization, we are committed to substantially increasing the number of working women and gender-expansive directors in film, television, commercials and new media by:
- Providing professional support for members in the form of hands-on craft enrichment, education, and mentorship
- Developing and leveraging relationships with industry partners
- Partnering with like-minded organizations to increase our reach and impact
Alliance of Women Directors’ members range from recent graduates to seasoned, award-winning veterans. Each member has directed at least one long or short-form narrative film, episode of television, documentary, commercial or new media program that has been recognized by the creative community.
We hope you’ll join us as a Directing member, Ally Member, volunteer or donor.
If you are looking to hire a director for a project, our searchable AWD makes it easy to find the right fit by genre, format, and more. Click here to find directors.
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