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The student-led panel will explore how women are redefining authorship, leadership, and creative influence across the film industry.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Los Angeles, CA (April 13, 2026) \u2014 Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences President Lynette Howell Taylor, 2026 Academy Award-winning producer Sara Murphy, and 2025 SXSW filmmaker Nastasya Popov will speak to students, aspiring filmmakers, and cinephiles of all ages at the 15th annual Archer Film Festival on Friday, April 17, 2026. The event will take place at 6:00 p.m. at the Pacific Design Center\u2019s Silver Screen Theater.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The panel\u2019s theme, \u201cWomen Behind the Camera: Shifting Power in Film,\u201d will not only examine how power is evolving in the entertainment industry, but how these three powerful filmmakers and industry leaders are actively reshaping the stories we tell and the systems that bring them to life.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Archer Film Festival, organized and led by students, celebrates films where women are a central creative voice, whether behind the camera or in front. It seeks to empower female filmmakers, amplify the voices of those often overlooked in the industry, and advance the art form by inviting teen artists from around the world to share their work with the Los Angeles community. Event sponsors include Boardwalk Pictures, Warner Bros. Television, Mark Gordon Pictures, The Kennedy\/Marshall Company, Paramount, Campfire Studios, Apache Digital, and Jack Tar Pictures.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lynette Howell Taylor currently serves as the President of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. Most recently, Howell Taylor produced <\/span>The Accountant 2<\/span><\/i>, starring Ben Affleck for Amazon\/MGM, and <\/span>Roofman<\/span><\/i>, directed by Derek Cianfrance and starring Channing Tatum and Kirsten Dunst for Paramount Pictures. Both films were released theatrically in 2025. Howell Taylor\u2019s other film producing credits include the Academy Award-nominated film <\/span>A Star Is Born, The Accountant, Big Eyes, The Place Beyond The Pines, Half Nelson, <\/span><\/i>and<\/span> Blue Valentine<\/span><\/i>. Howell Taylor served as Executive Producer on the HBO Emmy-nominated limited series <\/span>I Know This Much Is True<\/span><\/i> and produced the <\/span>2020 Academy Awards<\/span><\/i>. She is a member of Women in Film, a Reframe Ambassador, a Sundance Creative Producers Advisor, and a founder of the Horizon Award.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sara Murphy is a film and television producer who most recently released <\/span>One Battle After Another<\/span><\/i>, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, for which she won the 2026 Academy Award for Best Picture. Murphy also produced <\/span>Licorice Pizza<\/span><\/i>, nominated for Academy Awards including Best Picture, and <\/span>Never Rarely Sometimes Always<\/span><\/i>, which premiered at Sundance and Berlin and earned seven Independent Spirit Award nominations. Other credits include Grammy-nominated <\/span>ANIMA<\/span><\/i>, starring Thom Yorke, and Barry Jenkins’ <\/span>If Beale Street Could Talk<\/span><\/i>, an Oscar-nominated film that won Best Picture at the Independent Spirit Awards. A two-time John Cassavetes Award nominee, Murphy won for <\/span>Land Ho!<\/span><\/i>. Other projects include <\/span>If I Had Legs I\u2019d Kick You,<\/span><\/i> which premiered at Sundance and Berlin, and The <\/em><\/span>History of Sound,<\/span><\/i> which premiered at Cannes and Telluride.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Nastasya Popov is a director and writer whose breakout feature, <\/span>Idiotka<\/span><\/i>, was acquired by Utopia following its world premiere at SXSW 2025, where it was praised as a hilarious and winning debut. The film stars Anna Baryshnikov, Camila Mendes, Julia Fox, Benito Skinner, Owen Thiele, and Saweetie. Nastasya\u2019s documentaries and shorts have played at the Palm Springs and Hamptons International Film Festivals and more, and have won numerous awards. Nastasya holds a B.A. in Creative Nonfiction and Slavic Literature from Northwestern University and was the recipient of a Gilman Scholarship to study screenwriting abroad at FAMU in Prague. An alum of The Archer School for Girls, Popov was a founding member of the Archer Film Festival.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Following the panel, the festival will screen a selection of finalist films. This year, the festival received over 300 student-produced film submissions from over 50 countries worldwide. More information can be found at the Archer Film Festival website: <\/span>archerfilmfestival.org<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n # # #<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Archer School for Girls nurtures the fearlessness, compassion, and resilience girls need to pursue their brilliance. Backed by research and supported by expert faculty, Archer prepares girls to become confident, ethical leaders in the 21st century. Archer was founded in 1995 by three visionary women who believed that girls thrive in an environment of their own. Thirty years later, its tremendous growth to 500 students on a seven-acre historic Sunset Boulevard campus is a testament to its role as a model of the girls\u2019 school renaissance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n For more information, follow The Archer School for Girls on LinkedIn and Instagram @archerschoolforgirls or visit archer.org.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n [\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”24px”]\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/li> Student-led Q&A panel will delve into the pressing questions of how to create meaningful change for women in film, both in front of and behind the camera, within a rapidly shifting industry.<\/i><\/p>\n Los Angeles, March 20, 2025\u2014Golden Globe Award-winning actress Amy Adams, Director of the Telluride Film Festival Julie Huntsinger, and Golden Globe Award-nominated filmmaker Karyn Kusama will speak to students and aspiring young filmmakers at the fourteenth annual Archer Film Festival on Friday, April 11, 2025, at the Writers Guild Theater at 6:00 p.m.<\/p>\n As the entertainment industry navigates a cultural reckoning over equity, inclusion, and representation, the Archer Film Festival offers an unmissable opportunity for aspiring filmmakers to hear directly from three trailblazing women\u2014Adams, Huntsinger, and Kusama\u2014who bring a wealth of experience from behind and in front of the camera.<\/span><\/p>\n The Archer Film Festival, organized and led by students, seeks to empower female filmmakers and amplify the voices of those often overlooked in the industry. In addition to the Q&A panel featuring Amy Adams, Julie Huntsinger, and Karyn Kusama, the festival will screen a selection of finalist films. This year, the festival received over 300 student-produced film submissions from more than 30 countries worldwide. Esteemed sponsors of the event include Warner Bros. Television Group, Flawless, Mark Gordon Pictures, Paramount, Apache, Campfire Studios, and Paramount Pictures.<\/span><\/p>\n Amy Adams is a Golden Globe Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated actress. After a breakout role in the independent comedy, \u201cJunebug,\u201d Adams rose to fame with her portrayal of Princess Gisele in the Disney musical film \u201cEnchanted.\u201d Her film credits also include \u201cThe Fighter,\u201d \u201cThe Master,\u201d and \u201cArrival.\u201d Adams has received six Academy Award nominations and won two Golden Globe Awards, for her portrayals in \u201cAmerican Hustle\u201d and \u201cBig Eyes.\u201d Adams is also an ambassador for the RightWay Foundation.<\/span><\/p>\n Director of the Telluride Film Festival, Julie Huntsinger, has helped propel the Colorado-based festival to the top ranks of international film festivals over the past 18 years. The former producer began her career in the film business in 1993 when she worked alongside late Telluride founder and co-director Tom Luddy at Francis Ford Coppola\u2019s film studio American Zoetrope in San Francisco. She served as producer for the first time on a project shot in China for Zoetrope\u2019s Chrome Dragon Films. Huntsinger went on to produce a number of films, working across the globe with renowned, award-winning filmmakers. She advised Telluride for years before being appointed a Director in 2006. She has served on international film festival juries and is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as well as British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Prior to her work in film, Huntsinger received a BA in French literature from the University of California, Berkeley, and completed the Mass Media Institute\u2019s program in Broadcast Journalism at Stanford University.<\/span><\/p>\n Karyn Kusama most recently directed the first two episodes of AMC\u2019s horror anthology series, \u201cThe Terror: The Devil In Silver,\u201d of which she is also an executive producer. The show is set to premiere in 2025. Kusama is also an executive producer of Showtime\u2019s coming-of-age survival drama, \u201cYellowjackets.\u201d The show has garnered ten Emmy nominations to date, including one for Karyn\u2019s direction of the pilot episode. Prior to that, Kusama helmed the Golden Globe-nominated film \u201cDestroyer\u201d starring Nicole Kidman and written by her frequent collaborators, Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi. Her feature credits include indie thriller \u201cThe Invitation,\u201d cult horror comedy \u201cJennifer\u2019s Body,\u201d sci-fi love story AEON FLUX, and her Cannes and Sundance-award winning debut, \u201cGirlfight.\u201d\u00a0 Karyn has also worked extensively in television, directing episodes for such series as \u201cThe Mysterious Benedict Society\u201d (for which she won a Children\u2019s and Family Emmy Award), \u201cDead Ringers,\u201d \u201cHalt And Catch Fire,\u201d \u201cThe Outsider,\u201d and \u201cThe Man In The High Castle.\u201d In 2018, Kusama launched Familystyle Film, her production company with Hay and Manfredi, where they produce for film and television across multiple genres.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University has studied gender disparities in the top 100 grossing films since 2002. This year, <\/span>they examined<\/span><\/a> over 2,000 characters appearing in the top performers in 2024. For the \u201cfirst time in recent history,\u201d the percentage of films featuring female protagonists equaled that of those featuring male protagonists. 37% of all speaking roles in top-performing 2024 films were held by women, up from 35% the previous year. Strides are being made when it comes to the lack of diversity and the gender gap, but there is still a ways to go. The Archer Film Festival aims to bridge these divides by providing a platform for students with unique perspectives to showcase their work. The festival strives to empower young creatives and advance the art of filmmaking.<\/span><\/p>\n For more information about The Archer School for Girls and the festival, visit <\/span>www.archer.org<\/span><\/a> or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or TikTok at @ArcherSchoolforGirls.<\/span><\/p>\n # # #<\/span><\/p>\n About The Archer School for Girls<\/b><\/p>\n The Archer School for Girls is a nurturing and empowering educational institution where students develop the fearlessness, compassion, and resilience needed to pursue excellence. A contemporary girls’ school, catering to grades 6 through 12, Archer creates an intentional and invigorating space that fosters critical thinking and encourages girls to become architects of their own success. Archer offers a purposeful, inquiry-driven curriculum that inspires and engages girls to achieve their full potential.<\/span><\/p>\n For media inquiries or more information, please contact:<\/span><\/p>\n communications@archer.org<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n [\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”24px”]\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/li> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t2025\t\t\t<\/h6>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tAmy Adams, Karyn Kusama, and Julie Huntsinger to Lead Crucial Conversations on Women\u2019s Representation in Film at the Archer Film Festival\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_column_text]<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\tKate Berlant '05 and Samy Burch '05 Return to Alma Mater for Archer Film Festival\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_column_text]<\/p>\n