There is something magical about sharing stories with an audience. As a shy, awkward eight year old I remember getting on stage with the Richmond Performing Arts Center (now East Bay Center for the Performing Arts) in California and  for the first time feeling the enchantment of communicating with a group of people. I may not have known what it meant at that age but standing at the back of Videology Labor Day Monday the energy of the audience in attendance was not lost to me on a conscious level. It is why I began producing theatre and why I was enticed to take Barbara Ann O’Leary up on her challenge to the world to organize events celebrating the work of female filmmakers.

With theatre you get to rehearse and then share your story with an audience. Everyone makes films for different reasons but for me sharing a story with others has to be a part of it (whether it be 1 or 100) – which seems sympatico with the Directed by Women mission of appreciation. Having the opportunity to share the wonderful films gathered for the Shorts of All Sorts Labor Day screening was an absolute joy.

Thanks to Custom Made Theatre Company (CMTC) for the past three years we have shown shorts at Ryan’s Daughter which is a lovely bar supportive of the arts on the Upper East Side in NYC . Last year we experimented with a satellite screening at the CMTC space in San Francisco. This  year we moved to Videology in Brooklyn. Each year we are able to do a little more to expand upon the experience of the previous year. Thank you to those who shared their films and those who came out to experience those films. The Directed by Women Global Celebration continues at various venues throughout the month of September so check out their calendar – and keep watching wherever you are!