Focus: Femme Regard Productions

15th June 2020

Femme Regard Productions is a two-woman-led production company founded by Carolina Alvarez and Tessa Markle. Femme Regard is derived from the French phrase “regard féminin” which translates to “female gaze.” It was coined in response to the film theorist Laura Mulvey’s “male gaze,” a term used to represent both the gaze of the viewer, as well as the creator.

These two women recognized that the majority of mainstream film, both classical and modern, tend to skew the point-of-view, objectification of, and society’s roles for women. The mission of Femme Regard is to not only reinvent stereotypical female roles in film, but also to help create opportunities for women in front of and behind the camera.

Founded in January 2018, almost a year after working on their first project, a western, with no formal training in film production, they realized that making films is a long journey of dedication, passion, planning, and perseverance. They found it difficult to articulate to friends and family what the journey was really like when they didn’t yet have any finished footage to show off. That’s when the idea for Femme Regard Podcast came to mind.

A way for them to not only share their journey of producing but to connect with a larger audience, especially those who are trying to achieve the same thing. Femme Regard Podast is a mix of interviews with industry professional guests who share their journey and touch on specific aspects of the filmmaking world, as well as episodes featuring only the hosts as they share their journey and lessons that they have learned. That way, the listeners are not only getting to hear from the hosts, but learn from multiple guests with years of experience in the field.

Tessa and Carolina met Mike Cassentini from The Network Studios in Culver City, CA who was pivotal in helping them begin podcasting. What started as a binge-worthy full season release has now turned into a consistent weekly episode release going on 5 seasons.

The most exciting and surprising part of the podcast journey was hearing how the show not only connected with other aspiring filmmakers, but also those who are not in the industry at all! It has also been so rewarding building the relationships made from connecting with different industry guests. Especially the amount of talented female cinematographers, DP’s, writers, and directors.

Which, the hosts would like to add, is why it is important to actually seek these women out for hire; they are out there and doing amazing things. Platforms that the hosts recommend checking out include: Free the Work, African American Women in Cinema, Women in Film, and of course, Femme Regard Podcast!

Tessa and Carolina hope to continue to build a solid community of independent filmmakers who can work together. In order to keep up with episode topics and guests, follow the ladies on Instagram @femmeregard, Facebook @FemmeRegardProductions, and Twitter @femme_regard. The future holds nothing but excitement for Carolina and Tessa as they look forward to showcasing their own projects as well!

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