WCCDP Sponsor Quotes

“At AbelCine, we’re passionate about serving as a resource for all filmmakers and creatives. Part of this is ensuring these storytellers, especially those whose voices have been historically overlooked and undervalued, have access to the tools and knowledge to bring their creative vision to life. That’s why we’re so proud to sponsor the inaugural WCCDP initiative. I look forward to seeing the final project.” 

• Jeff Lee, AbelCine Director of Education

“Improving equality and diversity is important in our society – it’s an area that our industry must and is actively trying to address, and the WCCDP initiative is a great way to pave the way forward. I am honored to be part of such an amazing initiative and to be able to provide our color grading services on a project that everyone should be proud of.”

• Mark Gethin, MPC Color Creative Director

"Representation matters, on screen and behind the scenes. We’ve been hearing from the same voices and seeing the same faces for too long. Providing directing opportunities to women of color is a crucial step towards creating media that more accurately represents our country’s great diversity. I’m proud and excited to be a part of the WCCDP initiative and I hope this is just the beginning.”

• Meghan Lang, MPC Color Executive Producer

“I think there are a lot of good-intentioned ideas of how to “even the playing field.“ Sometimes it seems like those ideas are not specific enough to be tangible, not that big picture ideas aren’t valuable. But why SirReel wanted to support this project was the targeted opportunity it provided to some talented women. I knew this would make a difference—Not only in these ladies’ careers but in our industry too. We are excited to be a small part of this fantastic project and can’t wait to see what is born from this!”

• Wes Bailey, Founder & CEO, SirReel Studio Rentals

 "Music stands with the black community and is taking action in support of the fight against racism, bigotry, violence, hate, and discrimination of any kind."

• APM Music

Chelsea Bo, Paxeros co-founder and director, on WCCDP:  “Agencies and brands have long been eager to hire women of color, however, without proof of their directorial abilities these women have the odds stacked against them. This initiative aims to break that cycle. We realized that it takes a mixture of experience, opportunity, and economic stability to build a body of work, and spec commercials are often how reps, brands, and agencies discover up-and-coming directors. This initiative aims to jumpstart the commercial directing career for a woman of color by producing their first spec and breaking down the barrier that would normally silence their voice and creativity in the world of advertising. Although this opportunity is our small effort to combat a much larger problem, we hope that this year's Women of Color Commercial Directing Initiative is the first of many and can inspire others to take actionable steps in amplifying diverse female voices in advertising.”

Chelsea Bo on Stacy Gaspard: “Stacy is a natural storyteller, and this was evident when we first picked up her treatment for ‘Isadora.’ We could tell the concept was personal to her, but it was also creative and incorporated the product in a beautiful and succinct way. Stacy was the perfect fellow for our program’s first year. We were flying by the seat of our pants and although this program was created with the purest of intentions, we still had much to learn about how to be better allies. Stacy was patient with us, and we are grateful for her willingness to trust us in helping tell her story. We have no doubt Stacy Pascal Gaspard will go on to do incredible things and tell authentic and beautiful stories from her heart.”

Chelsea Bo on signing Julia Elihu: “Julia is an incredible creative force. Having only graduated from Chapman a year ago, Julia has proven that you can create your own opportunities, and this evident by the abundant amount of spec work she already has under her belt. Julia is the definition of ‘up-and-coming’ talent. She earns the respect of her team by leading with kindness and an open mind and her strong understanding of camera, editing, and sound design make her an extremely well-rounded director. Julia embodies many of the qualities we look for in a director and we are proud to represent her and to have her represent us.”