Halle Berry and Regina King helped pick a winner that hit close to home. The two Oscar-winning actors sat on the jury for the 11th annual Through Her Lens: The Tribeca Chanel Women’s Filmmaker Program, and on Thursday night in New York City, they awarded the grand prize to Cowards, a short film written and directed by Gem Little and produced by Kseniya Yorsh.
The win comes with full financing to produce the short with support from Tribeca Studios. The film is set on a summer day in 1999 Chicago and follows 11-year-old Diamond as she deals with a falling-out with her best friend and confronts everything she has been taught about being tough as a young girl.
A Story Pulled From Real Life
Little told Variety that the story comes from her own childhood. She moved between relatives’ homes after her mother was incarcerated, and she wanted to show how young girls learn to act hard as a way to survive.
“Youth violence is a crucial issue, and we don’t often talk about it from the lens of young girls and how we’re taught to be tough as a survival mechanism,” Little said.
The jury selected Cowards from five finalist teams because it stood out as a compassionate example of a story that is needed in the country right now.
Halle Berry on a Different Way to Handle Conflict
Berry spoke about why the film resonated with her. She said women often do not turn to fighting first.
“I don’t think, as a woman, our first instinct is to fight,” Berry said. “We’re very egalitarian. We’re nurturers of our families. More often than not, we’re willing to talk something out and find a peaceful resolution. That’s the difference between men and women. Cowards beautifully expresses that”.
Berry added that the jury felt a film about anti-violence and a female way of dealing with violence was something the world needs right now.
Regina King Brings the Laughs
King kept things light during the evening. She joked about the preparation the jurors had to do before hearing the pitches.
“I’ll be honest: when I first got the materials, I was like, ‘Oh, there’s homework? I thought we were just going to hear the pitch,’” King said.
But she also shared why the experience mattered to her. Meeting the filmmakers reminded her why she loves the business. She said the new generation is “marching to the beat of their own drum,” which lets her settle into the joy of filmmaking all over again.
The Other Finalists
Five teams took part in the three-day program, which ran from September 22 to 24 in New York City. Each team went through workshops, one-on-one mentorship, and industry conversations before pitching live to the jury.
The other four projects that received development grants were:
- Break by Jasmine J. Johnson and producer Katy Wicker, about a young Black surfer dealing with the fallout after a wipeout goes viral
- Camouflage by Jinsui Song and Shen Wei, set during mandatory military training in 2007 Shenzhen
- Cold Embrace by Victoria Trow and Sabina Friedman-Seitz, about a woman prescribed an emotional-support python
- Grippy Socks by Carlen May-Mann and Cacá Montagnana, following a woman during a 36-hour stay in an emergency room
A Program That Has Built Careers
Through Her Lens was started by Chanel and Tribeca Enterprises in 2015. Over its first 11 editions, the program has developed 50 short films, with 10 winning projects receiving full financing. Alumni have gone on to screen at Sundance and TIFF and land distribution through companies including Max, Searchlight, and Criterion.
Past participants include A.V. Rockwell, who directed A Thousand and One, Nikyatu Jusu, who made Nanny, and Numa Perrier, who helmed The Perfect Find.
This year’s mentors were Celine Song, Aleshea Harris, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Fala Chen, and Gina Prince-Bythewood. Conversation leaders included H.E.R., Patty Jenkins, Laura Karpman, and Miyako Bellizzi.
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What the Winner Said
Little and Yorsh said the three-day experience changed them not just as filmmakers but as women. As they headed back to Los Angeles, they agreed their biggest takeaway was how important it is for women to have agency and autonomy over their own stories.
“Women tell the truth. I think we’re going to continue to do that,” Little said.
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Stay tuned to VvipTimes for more updates on women filmmakers shaping the future of cinema and the stories that matter behind the camera.
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