On a fall evening in a Greenwich Village penthouse, the Chanel x Tribeca Through Her Lens program awarded its top honor — full financing to produce a short film — to writer-director Gem Little and producer Kseniya Yorsh for their project "Cowards."
The announcement capped a three-day program in which entrants took part in workshops, one-on-one mentorship and industry conversations before delivering a live pitch to a jury that included Halle Berry, Autumn Durald Arkapaw, Regina King, Ella Rubin and Meg Ryan. Arkapaw told the crowd Thursday night that she "felt very confident that all these talented women will make, and should make these films," but said ultimately "one film touched us [as] the most as a compassionate, strong example of a story that is needed in our country right now."
"Cowards" is set on a summer day in 1999 Chicago and follows 11-year-old Diamond as she faces a rift with her best friend, forcing her to reckon with everything she's been taught about toughness as a young girl. Little said the story is drawn from her own life experience: "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." Reflecting on the experience as she and Yorsh prepared to return to Los Angeles, Little said their biggest takeaway was "how important it is right now for us to have agency and autonomy over our own stories. Women tell the truth. I think we're going to continue to do that."
Berry praised the film's perspective on conflict. "I don't think, as a woman, our first instinct is to fight," she 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 ultimately agreed "something had to be a definitive thought," landing on the idea that "a film on anti-violence, and a female way of dealing with violence was something that the world needs right now."
King, joking about the program's pitch materials — "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'" — said meeting the participating teams reminded her why she loves the business. "At this age, you can definitely be jaded," she said, laughing. "We're all going to hell in a handbag." She credited the new generation, "marching to the beat of their own drum," with restoring her joy in filmmaking, adding that the experience reminded her "everything is not right in front of me" after finding success can narrow one's focus. King also spoke of her own filmmaking partnership with her sister, Reina King, noting, "That could be [us] in this room. We're still in rooms pitching like that."
This year's mentors included Celine Song, known for "Past Lives" and "Materialists"; playwright and filmmaker Aleshea Harris, known for "Is God Is"; producer Ellen Goldsmith-Vein; actress Fala Chen; and Gina Prince-Bythewood, director of "The Woman King."
As the evening wound down, Little shared advice that Tribeca co-founder Jane Rosenthal had given the cohort earlier in the week: "You not only hold the door open for the women who are behind you, but you hold the door open for the women who are ahead of you as well. You never know. All of this stuff is a sliding scale."
