Samantha Vincent and Cara Shine Celebrate Emerging Voices in Film at the 12th Annual Archer Film Festival

On Wednesday, April 19, The Archer School for Girls presented its twelfth annual Archer Film Festival empowering young, underrepresented voices in film. The event, held at the Writers Guild Theater, included a screening of finalist films and featured a Q&A with President of One Race Films Samantha Vincent and Good Pals production company co-founder Cara Shine. Festival organizers received more than 300 student-produced film submissions from over 50 countries around the world. Event sponsors included The Kennedy/Marshall Company, the Katie McGrath & JJ Abrams Family Foundation, Mark Gordon Pictures, Paramount, Skybound, and Tara & Marc Guggenheim.

 

SAMANTHA VINCENT is President of One Race Films, the film, television, and video game production company that has grossed over $5 billion since 2009 under her leadership. She has produced the last two installments of the “Fast & Furious” franchise, “F9: The Fast Saga” and most recently “Fast X” releasing May 19, 2023, and executive produced “Fate of the Furious,” “Furious 7,” “Fast & Furious 6,” “Fast Five,” and “Fast & Furious.” Additional credits include “The Last Witch Hunter” (Executive Producer), “Riddick” (Executive Producer), and “xXx: Return of Xander Cage” (Producer). Vincent drove the company’s platform expansion into gaming with “The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay” and the original title “Wheelman,” representing two of the company’s most successful gaming endeavors. Beyond film and video games, Vincent shepherded the company into the digital arena with the groundbreaking micro-budget series “The Ropes.” Vincent is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences®. She is a Board Director for Private School Axis in Los Angeles and Westbeth Artists Housing in New York. She holds a master’s degree in Educational Policy from Harvard University.

CARA SHINE teamed up with friend and former colleague Rebecca Miller in 2020 to launch the production company Good Pals. Their first foray together, “The Fallout” written and directed by Megan Park and starring Jenna Ortega, Shailene Woodley, John Ortiz, and Maddie Zeigler, debuted at the 2020 SXSW Film Festival and won all the top prizes in the Narrative Feature category, including the Grand Jury Award, The Brightcove Directing Award, and Audience Award. It was sold in a lucrative deal to HBO Max and debuted on January 27, 2022. They wrapped production recently on a Welsh-set Christmas comedy starring Brittany Snow and Lucas Bravo. In addition to this, the pair have also set up Simon Pegg’s directorial debut at Paramount, which is based on a novel by Michelle Paver and aims to shoot in 2024. In partnership with The Exchange and with Hannah MacPherson set to direct, Shine and Miller are producing the highly anticipated elevated genre film “See How They Run” by Lily Hollander, which came in 2nd on the 2021 Blacklist. Good Pals has also partnered with Architect Global in London to bring to life the romantic comedy ”Joint Custody” penned by Justin Isbell.

During the Archer Film Festival, twelve finalist films were screened:

• "My House is Mine" by Kaiya Ming Jordan
• "The Incongruent Congruent Outlook of Two Insecure Teenage Boys" by Santiago Salazar 
• "Soundmaker" by Piper Rose Rutman, Emma Frank, Isabelle Verdery
• "Parallel" by Evan Nowack
• "Caught in Two Minds" by Stella Lyne
• "No Time for Love" by Gabriella Coumau
• "Memories in Blue" by Yezy Suh
• "All the Little Impossibles" by Zan Miray Lapp
• "Surrounds" by Juno Shean
• "My Sisters in the Stars" by Ian Kim
• "Inflammation" by Isabella Gonzalez
• "Cloud Racers" by Chase Olivera
• *"Cloudream" by Lim Jayun, Nah Yunseo, Kim Ha yeon, Hwang Yein was also a finalist film, but the Archer Film Festival was unable to screen it.

The Archer Film Festival is a student-run and student-led event. “We had so much fun watching all of the submitted student films. “There were so many incredible options from all around the world and we are thrilled about our final picks. We so enjoyed getting to share with the audience the amazing films that we chose,” said Archer Film Festival team member and junior Tess Hubbard. “We were so thrilled to get to talk to Ms. Vincent and Ms. Shine. For students like me who are interested in working in the industry, their insight is invaluable, and we are so grateful they took the time to talk to us.” 

The gender gap still persists in the film industry. According to a 2022 report from the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, women comprised only 24% of all directors, writers, producers, executive producers, editors, and cinematographers working on the top 250 domestic grossing films, representing a slight decrease since 2021. 

The Archer Film Festival strives to bridge that divide by empowering and highlighting young filmmakers who share the goal of advancing the artform by showcasing work from students whose perspectives are rarely seen or heard. 

 

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The Archer School for Girls is for the ambitious and joyful. At forefront of all-girls education, Archer is dedicated to empowering the next generation of female leaders. 

A contemporary girls’ school in Los Angeles, Archer sustains a collaborative, student-centered teaching and learning community that explores and contributes to the research on how young women learn and thrive.

Since 1995, Archer has been inspiring young women to become confident, ethical changemakers by strengthening their voices and capacity to contribute positively to society and the world.

For more information, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter @ArcherSchool, or visit our website www.archer.org.