Lives of Consequence
Wendy Ettinger '78
Co-Founder and New York Program Director, Chicken and Egg Pictures
Co-Founder, Gamechanger Films
When Wendy Ettinger '78 packed up after college and headed to New York City, she didn't set out to change the world. Even after landing a casting internship at an off-Broadway theater and thrusting herself into the world of entertainment, it was not until the start of the 1992 Presidential Campaign that Ettinger began to explore a career in film-making -- and social justice.
"At the time, I was working with a theater director and we both thought there was a need to show more about the election process. We knew there was more to the candidates than what was seen on television," recalls Ettinger.
Not long after approaching directors D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus about making a film on the subject, Ettinger produced her first film, "The War Room," which was subsequently nominated for an Academy Award, won the D.W. Griffith for Best Documentary by the National Board of Review and the Audience Award at the Berlin Film Festival.
Since then, Ettinger has produced a dozen more films that have premiered at Sundance, South by Southwest and The Tribeca Film Festival. Her first feature film, "Eye of God," directed by Tim Blake Nelson, premiered at Sundance, and her directorial debut - "Baby I'm Yours" -- aired on The Oxygen Network and was featured on Oprah.
In 2005, she and two fellow female filmmakers co-founded Chicken and Egg Pictures, a hybrid film fund and non-profit production company dedicated to supporting women filmmakers, particularly those making films about social change.
Each year, Chicken and Egg makes two calls for women filmmakers to submit their letters of inquiry vying for competitive grants.
"We look for vision, great storytelling, access, commitment and passion," says Ettinger.
In the past, the production company has funded critically acclaimed films that examine everything from war to body image. In 2011 alone, seven films funded by the company were shown at the Sundance Film Festival and one - "Sun Come Up" -- earned an Academy Award nomination.
"Our films are about creating a fair playing field, and protecting an individual's civil rights," says Ettinger. "The fair playing field to us is as much about helping the story get told as it is about reaching out to women of color, women who are challenged economically, women who have disabilities. We are reaching out to filmmakers in the Middle East, Africa and across the U.S. to engage new voices."
As New York program director for Chicken and Egg Pictures, Ettinger bridges the gap between funders and filmmakers, advocacy and resources. She draws as much on her background as a casting director for theatre and indie films as she does from decades of activist philanthropy focused on girls, after school education and the revitalization of cities through the arts.
"It's about giving all women filmmakers the tools, the skills and the funding to tell their own stories," says Ettinger. "Violations of human rights occur every minute of every day and the films we support shed light on just a few. These voices need to be heard."
Despite the wide range of subjects in Chicken and Egg films, the common theme is combating injustice through storytelling.
"No one wants to feel like they are being lectured to; they want to reach their own conclusions," she says. "The best films leave you wondering and thinking, curious about an issue or a person. They leave you wanting to find out information, do more research or take action."
Ettinger recently cofounded Gamechanger Films, the first for-profit film fund dedicated exclusively to financing narrative features directed by women. The company's goal is "to shift the gender disparity in the film marketplace by tapping into the enormous but undervalued talent pool of women filmmakers and providing the necessary financing to bring their work to audiences worldwide." Gamechanger's first film, "Land Ho!," will premiere at Sundance 2014.
Ettinger currently serves on the boards of Working Films, which brings persuasive and provocative documentary films to long-term community organizing and activism; the 52nd Street Project, a non-profit organization that brings theater professionals together with inner city children; and the Educational Foundation of America. She is a recipient of the 2006 Mendelsohn award.
At William Smith, Ettinger majored in English, studied abroad in London and played field hockey. In the fall of 2013, she was awarded the William Smith Alumnae Association's highest honor, the Alumna Achievement Award.