Defining the Role of the Producer

From cutting-edge documentaries that give depth to today’s headlines to smart, stunning films that push artistic and intellectual boundaries in all genres, Women Make Movies (WMM), a non-profit feminist social enterprise based in New York, is the world’s leading distributor of independent films by and about women. Our Production Assistance Program assists women directors with their productions from concept through completion with fiscal sponsorship, consultations and other technical assistance. We work with creative, ground-breaking films which win awards at festivals around the world. Films and filmmakers we have supported have been nominated for or won Academy® Awards in 12 of the past 13 years.REFUND POLICY |No refunds will be given for any workshop registrations.  If you are unable to make the workshop but notify us up to 24 hours prior to the actual workshop date, you may receive a credit for another workshop within one year. Workshops may be cancelled by WMM due to insufficient enrollment. All instructors are subject to change.

Women Make Movies

Defining the Role of the Producer with Jennifer MacArthur, Beth Levison, and Heidi Reinberg

Everyone needs a producer – but what kind of producer do you need? Producers are involved in different parts of the research/development, financing, production, post-production, and distribution process. In this webinar, these award-winning producers and consulting producers, Jennifer MacArthur (WHOSE STREETS?), Beth Levison (STORM LAKE, THE MARTHA MITCHELL EFFECT) and Heidi Reinberg (93QUEEN, WHO DOES SHE THINK SHE IS?) will define the different roles a producer plays, from beginning to end – what the work entails, how to breakdown the workflow, and how each role is credited. Being a producer is not a catch-all by any means! And for those who want to be a producer, we’ll discuss how one sustains and creates a thriving career as a producer in our current world.

IMPORTANT WEBINAR REGISTRATION INFORMATION:<ul><li>If you register for this entire series, you will have access to all 4 live webinars in this series, as well as the recordings. </li><li>If you have a promo code, please enter that when selecting your ticket type BEFORE proceeding to checkout. After clicking "tickets" above, there will be ticket options and a link that says "enter promo code". You will not be able to do so at checkout.</li><li>Once registered, you will receive an order confirmation email. Please do not delete it. Your confirmation email will contain a button that says "View the Event" which will bring you to the event page. You must be logged in to Eventbrite with the email address you used to register for this to work.</li><li>Alternatively, if the button isn't working for you, please scroll down your order confirmation email to find and click the Zoom link there.</li><li>If you do not see your order confirmation email within 10mins of registering, please check your junk/spam box or promotional emails. If not in those locations, please email fsprogram@wmm.com so we can reissue the confirmation email. We receive a high volume of calls and emails in the hours before the webinar, so please make sure you have what you need in advance to avoid delays in joining the event.</li><li>If you are unable to participate live, a recording of this webinar will be emailed to all registrants and available for three months after the recording is posted.</li></ul>

Jennifer MacArthur is a filmmaker and media strategist working at the intersection of documentary, human rights, and the digital revolution. She is a 2018 IFP Cannes Producers Network Fellow and 2016 Sundance Creative Producing Summit Fellow, and a member of the board of directors for Storyline Media, an award-winning multi-platform, participatory and interactive storytelling company. Jennifer produced the critically acclaimed feature documentary Whose Streets?, which premiered on DAY ONE of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and sold to Magnolia Pictures. She has produced for TIME Studios, Soledad O’Brien Productions, Climate Power, Anonymous Content and Shopify Studios. Currently, Jennifer is producing and co-directing a documentary on social equity with Peabody, Emmy, and Academy award-winning filmmaker Geeta Gandbhir. The film marks Jennifer’s directorial debut. 

A recognized expert on media engagement, Jennifer is a 2015 Creative Change Leader and 2015 Rockwood JustFilms Fellow. Over a ten-year period, she helped define the field with impact campaigns for Traces of the Trade (POV, 2008) and Gideon’s Army (HBO, 2013); engagement strategy for the ITVS social TV platform OVEE; and thought leadership for the Impact Field Guide, Impact Tracker, and StoryPilot, among others. Her work also took her to Amsterdam, Melbourne, and Guadalajara for keynotes addressing systemic racism, big data, and low-fi transmedia. Jennifer sits on the advisory board for Harmony Labs, a media research institute founded by Buzzfeed co-founder John S. Johnson. 

Doc Society selected Jennifer for its inaugural Impact Producers Retreat in 2012. Together with producer Brenda Coughlin (CITIZENFOUR), she established the peer support network Impact Producers Group and launched Impact Socials, a networking event for creative change-makers. Her commitment to artist development kept her active on the festival circuit as an industry delegate; a Lab Leader for IFP Labs; and an advisor for Sundance Labs, Tribeca New Media, and the Mozilla Foundation. 
Jennifer is a graduate of The New School’s film program. She lives and works in Los Angeles.

Beth Levison is an independent Emmy and Peabody-winning filmmaker based in NYC. Her most recent film, THE MARTHA MITCHELL EFFECT, a 40-minute all-archival short about Watergate whistleblower and Republican cabinet wife, that had its World Premiere at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and will launch on Netflix later this year. The film is directed by Anne Alvergue and co-directed by Debra McClutchy and produced by Levison and her producing partner, Judith Mizrachy. Levison’s previous film, STORM LAKE which she directed with DP Jerry Risius premiered at the 2021 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, won the Audience Award at AFI Docs, was short-listed by the IDA as one of the Best Documentaries of the Year, and was broadcast on PBS’ Independent Lens. Levison’s prior producing credits include WOMEN IN BLUE (2019 Tribeca FF, Independent Lens 2020), the Emmy-nominated MADE IN BOISE (AFI Docs 2019, Independent Lens 2019), Emmy nominated PERSONAL STATEMENT (PBS 2018), and 32 PILLS: MY SISTER’S SUICIDE (HBO 2017). 
Following a career in television, Levison shifted over to documentary film with her debut as director/producer with LEMON (PBS 2011).
She is the founder of Hazel Pictures, a co-founder of the Documentary Producers’ Alliance (DPA), producing faculty with the School of Visual Arts MFA Program in Documentary Film, and a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.

Heidi Reinberg recently served as Consulting Producer on the documentary Born to Be, which premiered at the NY Film Festival before being released theatrically by Kino-Lorber and being nominated for two national Emmys. Prior to that, she produced 93Queen — a co-production with ITVS, arteSWR, and YesDocu. 93Queen had its broadcast premiere on POV before heading over to HBOMax.

Previously, Reinberg worked with Oscar winners Cynthia Wade and Ross Kauffman. Her work has been supported by the Sundance Documentary Institute; the Ford Foundation; NEH; XTR; the Tribeca Film Institute; Catapult Film Fund; Fork Films; NYSCA; and the IDA Enterprise/Pare Lorenz funds, among others. She is a frequent panelist on the subjects of grant-writing, fundraising, development, and pitching, and is a vocal advocate for the mental well-being of those in the documentary ecosystem. Reinberg is a member of the Documentary Producers Alliance, serving as a member of that body's Structural Working Group.

Women Make Movies gratefully acknowledges the support of our funders: The National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, and with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts &amp; Sciences, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and the Jerome Foundation.

Defining the Role of the Producer

More events from Women Make Movies

Discover more events from Women Make Movies, from Film & Media to other experiences you might love.

Still looking for the right event?

Explore all online events to browse and filter by date, category, and more.

Defining the Role of the Producer

More events from Women Make Movies

Discover more events from Women Make Movies, from Film & Media to other experiences you might love.

You might also like...

Browse more events with different dates, prices, and formats to find your next great experience.

Still looking for the right event?

Explore all online events to browse and filter by date, category, and more.