AWD’s Career Advancement Programs focus on Professional Development, Community, and Advocacy for Women and Gender-Expansive Directors.
Our current programs include:
- Master Classes: Attendees receive hands-on, applicable information from Showrunners, Editors, top Directors, DPs, and more. Topics include prepping, directing and episodes of television, pitching projects to financiers, and applying to diversity programs.
- Professional Partnerships: AWD collaborates with Studios, Networks, and allied organization to produce panels, mixers, and workshops for our members.
- Works in Progress Program: AWD directors screen new works currently in post or headed for the festival circuit for peer review. Before the screenings, an invited guest presents a workshop on either the craft or business of filmmaking.
- Black Directors Advancement Initiative: BDAI facilitates relationships between industry professionals and Black AWD directors for the purpose of career development.
- #MentorLatinaDirectors Fellowship: #MLD is for current AWD Directing Members who identify as Latine and/or Indigenous. The program is designed to foster career growth and meaningful relationships through craft enrichment and connections with Industry creatives.
- Directing the Actor Lab: Participating directors choose a scene from an established screenplay, cast it, and hold a rehearsal during class, where they receive feedback in preparation for shooting their scene outside of class. Topics covered include in-depth scene breakdowns, rehearsal exercises and techniques, and playable direction and adjustments for actors. These classes are open to auditing by AWD Directing and Ally Members.
- Social Sundays: Held virtually on the third Sunday of each month, these events are focused on building community. AWD Directing and Ally members share advice and support, and get to know other members and their work.
- AWD Book Club: Hosted by AWD South, Book Club is open to all AWD Directing and Ally members and meets every other month for a Q&A with the selected book’s author.
- Rising Director Fellowship: The Rising Director Fellowship is a yearlong intensive that fosters 5-8 directors who show a substantial portfolio of work in the short form space (narrative shorts, episodic, commercials, music videos, and web content) who have yet to direct a narrative feature film. Focus is on directing a proof of concept short.
- Virtual Readings Program: The AWD Virtual Readings Program is an ongoing series of staged readings over Zoom, devised to get scripts to the next level with feedback from members, industry professionals and invited guests.
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