All great movies start with one idea, but high school students Christina Miles and Gabrielle (Gaby) Mikhail had ideas for five. With the help of the Dragon Kim Foundation, a nonprofit that funds student-run projects that better the community around them, Miles and Mikhail created a project where young female writers would have the opportunity to write and produce five films with an all-female production company. TV Wasteland sat down with the founders of Films for Our Futures to talk about their project and young female representation in the entertainment industry.
After being able to experience her film come to life through an all-female production, crew, Miles wanted to do the same but for many other girls’ stories besides hers. “As I was watching my film come to life, I thought, ‘what if there were movies that told these stories but they come from the people who are living through that experience?’ I have always been interested in film and representation in film is important. Then I started thinking about having a female writers room, and then I came across Gaby, we decided to do it.” Mikhail comments, “I think a lot of what we talked about for this project were the films we loved growing up and just the lack of representation in them. When Christina told me her vision for the project, I was really inspired and I really wanted to help.”
With the support and $5,000 funding from the Dragon Kim Foundation, starting out was pretty easy. Mikhail notes how “one of the major positives of this project has been the support from the Dragon Kim Foundation. Without them, Christina and I really wouldn’t have a lot of guidance that we need. The foundation has been really helpful in budgeting and making sure we’re all planned out and we know who’s doing what.” However, there were some rough patches. Due to COVID-19, time constraints was a significant obstacle that Miles and Mikhail had to work around. “We were looking to get our films done by the end of August but because of COVID-19, we’ve had to to keep pushing production back further and further”, explains Mikhail.
A motivating factor for Miles and Mikhail was the gender and racial imbalances in the film and entertainment industry. “I don’t see myself in the films I watch. I don’t see myself in films that I love and I think that that’s a major loss,” Mikhail notes. For Miles, film was the most accessible medium due to its influence in pop culture, so “introducing a project with women who are spearheading it was super impactful for me because when I get to the writer’s room, instead of calling me out or just dismissing me outright, they say ‘okay why are you coming at that conclusion? Why should we go this way story-wise?’”
A main priority for this project is to tell the stories of individual girls’ experiences. “We want to tell authentic stories about girls’ experiences they go through. A lot of our stories are challenging the idea of what a woman or young girl in America should look like and flipping these stereotypes on their heads,” explains Miles. Mikhail likes the idea of “straying away from the cookie cutter “girl falls in love with boy” stories. One of our scripts is about a girl discovering her sexuality, and she finds that out through this manifestation of her own denial and it manifests itself as Aphrodite… I think that this idea of an internal struggle and external pressures is consistent throughout all of our stories.”
At the end of the day, Mikhail hopes to help young girls who want to start out in the entertainment industry find a safe place to get experience and network with industry professionals. Miles wants to represent the voices of the unheard and “show people that we care about their voices and about their story and give them the experience they need to [tell their story]”.
FAST FACTS
- “Lady Bird” or “Little Women”?
Miles: “Lady Bird” rekindled my love for film and I wrote a screenplay when I was 14 that was exactly like “Lady Bird”. But also, “Little Women” has really serious moments but also there’s just a lot going on in that movie and I enjoyed every second of it, so I’d say “Little Women”.
Mikhail: I’d have to say “Lady Bird”.
- Favorite actress and why?
Miles: Cynthia Erivo who played Harriet in “Harriet” and was also in “The Color Purple”. Her ability to show complex emotions on her face is crazy; I’ve never seen anyone do it so successfully.
Mikhail: Octavia Spencer.
- If you can make an Oscars category what would it be and why?
Miles: Dramas that exclude Keira Knightley. I love her so much but she’s in so many that like she needs to give everyone else a shot.
Mikhail: I would make the different screenwriting awards like best screenplay drama, best screenplay independent.
TV Wasteland 