'This Changes Everything' Shares Its Voice at the 2019 Summer KCET Cinema Series
Following a screening of "This Changes Everything," executive producer and actor Geena Davis and director Tom Donahue attended a Q&A hosted by Cinema Series host Pete Hammond. An insightful documentary about gender inequality in Hollywood and American culture in general that offers possible solutions to this persistent and pervasive issue. Featuring interviews with Cate Blanchett, Jessica Chastain, Geena Davis, Tiffany Haddish, Taraji P. Henson, Rashida Jones, Sandra Oh, Meryl Streep, Reese Witherspoon, and many other influential voices from around the world.
Geena Davis is an Academy Award®-winning actor and advocate. In 1978, Geena moved to New York to start her acting career. Her first appearance was "Tootsie" in 1982. Davis is known for her in roles in "Buffalo Bill," "Sara," "Transylvania 6-5000," "Fletch," "The Fly," "Beetlejuice," "The Accidental Tourist", which earned her an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 1989, "Earth Girls Are Easy," "Quick Change" and "Thelma & Louise." In 1992 she co-stared in "A League of Their Own" with Tom Hanks, "Hero" in 1992 and returned to television in 2000 to headline in "The Geena Davis Show" (2000) and "Commander in Chie"f (2005), earning her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Series Drama. Speaking on the importance of "This Changes Everything," Davis notes her own experiences in her career. "If women are continually depicted as one-dimensional, sidelined, stereotyped, hypersexualized, not given leadership roles or simply absent, it sends a very clear message: women and girls are not as important as men and boys. And that has an enormous impact on business and society.” Davis founded The Geena Davis Institution Gender In Media which is the only research-based organization working within the media and entertainment industry to engage, educate, and influence the need to dramatically improve gender balance, reduce stereotyping and create diverse female characters in entertainment targeting children 11 and under.
Tom Donahue’s latest feature documentary, "Thank You For Your Service" premiered at DOC NYC in November 2015. His Emmy®-nominated HBO feature documentary, "Casting By" was hailed as one of the top five documentaries of the year by the National Board of Review and described as “outstanding!” by film critic Leonard Maltin. It won the 2014 Gracie Award for Outstanding Documentary of the Year from the National Alliance of Women in Media. The Netflix Original, "Los Tigers del Norte at Folsom Prison" is Donahue’s latest documentary as director and will premiere in September. He recently produced "Bleed Out," an HBO documentary film in association with Impact Partners (nominated this year for best documentary by the LA Press Club). Other directorial works by Donahue include "Davi’s Way" and "Guest of Cindy Sherman." He also has extensive experience as a creator, producer, director and editor in television.
See event photos and listen to the Q&A from the screening below.