About City Of Angels Women's Film Festival
City of Angels Women’s Film Festival was launched successfully in 2019 with the goal of empowering and connecting women and those identifying as female in the film industry and showcasing extraordinary films made by women, both in Los Angeles and globally. City of Angels Women’s Film Festival is focused on honoring films that have been either directed, produced, written or include a cast driven by women or a combination of those elements. The screenplay category is open to submissions from both men and women. (Scripts written by men must feature a female protagonist.) COAWFF also honors and celebrates LGBTQ themed films and scripts. Student filmmakers are also encouraged to submit their work in competition. The third annual City of Angels Women’s Film Festival will take place at the Whitefire Theatre: 13500 Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks. 91423. We will be hosting exciting panels with industry leaders and celebrity guests at the theatre, networking events and a Red Carpet Gala Awards Night at Bella Blanca Event Center in North Hollywood. We will also host a virtual panel with top UK and international filmmakers prior to the official start of the festival.
Our Mission
Our mission is to promote gender equality in the film industry and celebrate diverse women's stories by creating a platform for those stories to be shared and celebrated through the medium of film and written word. Our four-day festival brings female filmmakers and writers together to connect, network and empower each other and learn more about the film industry by sharing experiences through screenings, panels and Q&A's. It is our hope that both working relationships and friendships will be sparked and emerge through participating in the festival, and both experienced and emerging filmmakers and writers will continue on this positive trend of change in film and beyond.
LISA K. CROSATO
Founder/Artistic Director
Lisa K. Crosato is an Actress, Writer and Producer, based in Los Angeles and originally from Vancouver, Canada. After acting in numerous independent films, Lisa turned to writing and producing to fuel her creativity. Her first written, produced and starred in film, KENMORE AVE was a hit at Cannes and is currently distributed by Shorts TV. She produced a feature length documentary FROM the MIDST of PAIN, which has earned over eight awards and has recently received distribution. She was a producer and developed the screenplay for famed director, Jean Pierre Bekolo’s film, LES SAIGNANTES which was shot in French and screened to acclaim at the Toronto International Film Festival and internationally. She was mentored by famed screenwriter, Mardik Martin (RAGING BULL, MEAN STREETS) while writing her first screenplay XXL which has won several awards. She has several projects in development including a “true crime thriller” she wrote about an infamous female serial killer. She has recently been cast as one of the leads in the dark comedy JAMMED IN ZERO which is scheduled to shoot in the spring of 2023. Lisa is passionate about female driven content, and she successfully launched “City of Angels Women’s Film Festival” in 2019, with the goal of empowering and connecting women in the film industry and showcasing extraordinary films made by women, both in Los Angeles and globally.
PAUL DUBOIS
International Producer
Paul is a British Canadian Producer based in the UK specialising in short films. Over the past decade Paul has produced and worked closely with new and established filmmakers including the following award winning projects: DING-DING, NEXT? by Alexander McKenzie & India Plummer (Screen South/BBC Creatives), Alice Trueman’s JAS (Red Rock Production Award), Eleanor Dolan’s READY OR NOT (Screen South/C4 Random Acts, Best Micro Film, NRFF), Joshua Kerr’s FLY HOME (Super 8s Cannes & World 25 winner) and trans director/actor Jake Graf’s COCKTALE & XY (Iris Prize Nominee). His first documentary PEMON was commissioned by the BFI and the DocSociety (formerly BritDoc) is currently in post-production.Paul’s latest online series, the comedy self-help #HONESTY by Niall Bishop and Ruggero Dalla Santa will premiere in Feb. 2022. Paul was also the Co-Producer of the feature film DARK SIGNAL (Netflix USA, SKY Cinema & Kaleidoscope) by Edward Evers-Swindell with James Cosmos and Exec. Produced by Neill Marshall.
CYNTHIA J. RODRIGUEZ Festival Coordinator
Cynthia J Rodriguez is a Producer and Assistant Director in Los Angeles. Recently, she co-produced, SHELTER, which is about the nightmares one conquers to follow their dreams. During her college career, her passion for film and television led her to work with film festivals. Under her direction, she facilitated a film festival dedicated to students of Latin American descent. She has also produced, directed, assisted directed, and edited a variety of short films and visual artwork. Cynthia is an alum of USC School of Cinematic Arts and an Academy Gold Alum (presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences).
Her journey with the City of Angels Women’s Film Festival began as a volunteer. Now, she serves as Festival Coordinator. Cynthia is thrilled to welcome a new year of filmmakers, writers, panelists, and another great year of celebrating women in entertainment.