Project Summary

Utah Valley University’s annual FEMME Project recently wrapped production on a short film titled “Stage Kids,” written and directed by Lynn Chen. The project’s mission of "Empowered Women, Empowering Women" happens through professional mentorship and hands-on experience on a real film production. Each year, female industry professionals come on as mentors in lead positions, while students are the crew. This year, an all-female crew of more than 40 students took part over 3 days, after many months of careful planning and pre-production — under the leadership of a few seniors and a faculty mentor.  Every aspect is treated as a professional production — from project and script acquisition in the fall, to production in the spring, and then to a finished film in the summer. Throughout all of this, there are department meetings with mentors, guest speakers, professional trainings, and networking opportunities. Students build long-term connections with industry mentors while working side-by-side to create a professional-level product.