Inaugural COVEN Film Festival lands February 9 in San Francisco

Published by
Share

The Inaugural COVEN Film Festival Brings World-Class Short Films Made By Women to San Francisco February 9

Announcing the first-ever COVEN Film Festival, San Francisco’s new world-class short film festival featuring films made by women, for everyone. A full day of curated short film screenings, complete with filmmaker Q&A’s will take place Saturday, February 9th, 2019 at the New People Cinema in San Francisco’s historic Japantown neighborhood. A private networking event will take place the evening before on Friday, February 8th for filmmakers and sponsors.

More than 200 films were submitted from 19 countries. COVEN is dedicated to showcasing short films by underrepresented emerging women filmmakers with a lineup that includes work from creators of all ages and genres while spotlighting Bay Area artists.

“COVEN is a gathering of like-minded people, as the name suggests. It’s our not-so-secret society of artists whose points of view deserve to be shared and amplified.”
~ Cameo Wood, COVEN Film Festival Director & Filmmaker

COVEN was created by women filmmakers, producers, and entrepreneurs inspired to build a festival that is accessible and welcoming to springboard talent. The founding team includes filmmaker Cameo Wood, actor/producer Connie Jo Sechrist, and Tanji CEO and founder Melinda Fox.

Fresh off two years on the festival circuit with her own award-winning short film, filmmaker Cameo Wood wanted to provide a new opportunity for female filmmakers. Building on the strongest attributes of the many festivals she attended, Cameo wanted this event to show that there is commercially viable, technically impressive, and wonderfully creative work being done by women of all backgrounds.

Wood also wanted to create an accessible space where these filmmakers could come together and share their films and experiences. “It was important to us to remove major barriers of entry from the start,” she says. “Our entry fee was far below industry standard, and we offered a suite of waivers to ensure anyone who wanted to submit their work could. We’ve also priced festival tickets at $25 for audiences giving them access to 25 films, multiple Q&A’s with filmmakers, and a panel featuring industry creatives and our partners.”

The festival founders also wanted to make sure all women creators felt welcome. Says festival co-director Melinda Fox, “This event spotlights women storytellers, and recognizes that not every woman is young, white, middle-class, cisgender, or able-bodied. Our mission is to amplify all women’s stories—emphasizing indigenous, disabled, and women of color—told by women creators.”

COVEN has partnered with organizations with a proven track record supporting women filmmakers in all phases of their careers. Programming partners include Bluestocking Film Series and Etheria Film Night, and fiscal sponsorship from Cinefemme — who have more than 25 years combined experience pushing for inclusion behind the camera and representation across screens.

Adds Wood, “We are looking forward to COVEN becoming a cornerstone of the San Francisco arts calendar. With the cinema’s Dolby 5.1 sound and all films presented in DCP, this is truly a top tier professional event that San Francisco’s film savvy audiences are going to love.”

The festival’s emphasis on connection extends to audiences, who are invited to participate in Q&A’s a panel discussion with industry creatives with the purchase of a Film Lover Access pass ($25). VIP All-Access pass holders can also join filmmakers at a private networking event the evening of Feb 8th, and on the red carpet and Awards Party ($150) the day of the festival.

Tickets are limited and on sale now at covenfilmfest.com.

Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013. He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.

Recent Posts

AwardsWatch Podcast Ep. 279 – Reviewing ‘Black Bag’ and ‘Mickey 17’

On episode 279 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch… Read More

March 17, 2025

3rd Children’s & Family Emmy Awards: ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ Leads with Eight; Jacob Tremblay, Christian Slater, Meryl Streep Win

The 3rd Children's & Family Emmy Awards were handed out last night where nomination leader… Read More

March 16, 2025

SXSW 2025 Reviews: ‘Fantasy Life,’ ‘Slanted,’ ‘Uvalde Mom’

For the third dispatch from the 2025 SXSW Film Festival, we take a look at… Read More

March 15, 2025

SXSW 2025 Reviews: ‘The Dutchman,’ ‘$POSITIONS,’ ‘We Bury the Dead’

Sometimes you go to a festival and they aren’t all winners. Over the last couple… Read More

March 15, 2025

75th ACE Eddie Awards: ‘Emilia Pérez,’ ‘Wicked’ Top Winners for Film Editing

American Cinema Editors (ACE) last night revealed the winners for the 75th Annual ACE Eddie Awards, with… Read More

March 15, 2025

Director Watch Podcast Ep. 89 – ‘Closer’ (Mike Nichols, 2004)

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt… Read More

March 14, 2025

This website uses cookies.