Changing the Ratio Oscars

Join us for a panel discussion and in-person cocktail reception in Los Angeles as we celebrate with like-minded folks interested in amplifying underrepresented voices during awards season. There will be a panel discussion with award winning filmmakers, followed by a reception celebrating creators of all marginalized genders. We’ll have some light bites, great music, and plenty of good cheer to go around.

Co-hosted by the AWFC, Film Fatales, NALIP, ReFrame and WIF. Sponsored by Paramount+.

Doors open at 6pm for a step and repeat photo opportunity. Light bites will be provided. Cash bar. Limited street parking. Ride share encouraged.

Changing the Ratio is a cross disciplinary networking event for industry professionals celebrating women, trans and/or nonbinary filmmakers during awards season. Our focus is to shine a light on some of the amazing projects and their creators from this year as we come together for a night of industry conversation and networking with professional filmmakers, crew, and influential industry decision-makers.

With the current underrepresentation of women and non-binary creatives across technical and craft categories - from directors to composers, cinematographers, VFX and editors - our collective goal with this event is to carve out and occupy shared space. As film award season is underway, this event will highlight members across our organizations who have the potential to be nominated and considered for awards.

Film Fatales recently launched the Parity Pipeilne, a results-driven initiative that fights inequities in the film industry by connecting underrepresented filmmakers directly with key decision-makers seeking to hire equitably and program inclusively.

ReFrame is getting ready to release its WHAT TO WATCH: 2026 Film FYC Guide. As part of WIF’s mission to advocate for change, the Voter Guide aims to amplify the work of deserving women, trans, and nonbinary folk, serving as a go-to resource for industry voters who are conscious of gender bias and desire equity in the industry.

Accessibility Notes:

This in-person social event will be accessible with ADA compliant entrances and restrooms. Masks are not required, but please maintain a respectful distance. Please contact events@filmfatales.org to request an accommodation.

Refreshments:

Complimentary light bites with vegetarian options will be provided, including charcuterie skewers, tomato basil bruschetta, vegetable spring rolls, watermelon feta basil skewers and moroccan chicken meatballs with pomegranate molasses.

A full cash bar will also be available including beer, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages.

Location Details:

Located in historic West Adams, the Gathering Spot Los Angeles is spread across three floors of a former printing factory at 5211 W Adams Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90016.

Nearest bus stops are Adams & Redondo or La Brea & Adams.

Limited street parking. Rideshare is encouraged.

Oscar nominated, five-time Emmy award winning composer Laura Karpman creates powerful, imaginative scores that push the boundaries of storytelling.  Her bold, incandescent works span film, television, theater, interactive media and live performance, reflecting an audaciously creative, prodigious fresh spirit. Karpman collaborates with some of the most renowned filmmakers of our time, including Eleanor, Francis Ford and Sofia Coppola, Cord Jefferson, Nia DaCosta, Alex Gibney, Misha Green, Rory Kennedy, Kasi Lemmons, Laura Nix, Sam Pollard and Steven Spielberg. 2023 was perhaps her most prolific year to date, with six film and TV projects alone - American Fiction (Amazon MGM), starring Jeffrey Wright and Sterling K. Brown, written, directed and produced by Cord Jefferson, which has garnered five Oscar nominations including Best Picture, and for which Karpman has received her first Oscar nomination for her original score, The Marvels (Disney), Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed (Max), What If? (Disney+), Ms. Marvel (Disney+), and 61st Street (The CW). 2024 promises season 3 of What If?, two unannounced video game projects, and a musical based on Dorothy Arzner’s MGM film, Dance Girl Dance. Concert music premieres include the world premiere performance of BALLS, an opera chronicling Billie Jean King’s epic 1973 “Battle of the Sexes”' tennis match, with words by New York Times writer Gail Collins, and a commissioned work for the Juilliard School. Karpman was proud to have her theme from The Marvels performed at closing night of the BBC Proms.

Lorenza Muñoz is the founder/CEO of Artemis Muse Productions, a consulting firm specializing in film awards campaigns, festival strategy and hosting and moderating intimate salons to raise awareness around business and creative initiatives. Prior to Artemis Muse, Lorenza was a senior executive at Amazon MGM Studios and EVP of Global Member Relations and Awards at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, where she oversaw world-wide activities and initiatives for the organization's 9,000+ filmmakers and artists. Before pivoting to Hollywood, Lorenza was a journalist with the Los Angeles Times for more than a decade where she wrote more than 3,000 articles covering entertainment, business and government. Lorenza continues to write and is now working on her memoir about her experiences as an internationally ranked swimmer. Her essay, "American Girl," was published in the anthology, Border-Line Personalities: A New Generation of Latinas Dish on Sex, Sass, and Cultural Shifting.

Smriti Mundhra is a DGA Award winner, two-time Academy Award nominee, and three-time Emmy-nominated filmmaker known for pushing the boundaries of nonfiction storytelling. She created and directed The Romantics, Netflix’s definitive documentary on Bollywood history, featuring 35 stars and rare archival material. Her breakout short, St. Louis Superman—a story of activism and resilience—was Oscar-nominated and acquired by MTV Documentary Films after a bidding war, with support from Judd Apatow, Brad Pitt, and Mark Ruffalo. Her second Oscar nomination came for I Am Ready, Warden, continuing her focus on urgent, character-driven stories. She is the creator, director, and executive producer of Netflix’s global hits Indian Matchmaking and Jewish Matchmaking, both Emmy-nominated. Smriti explores cultural identity in Bollywood Dance U (Netflix) and Muslim Matchmaker (Hulu). Her debut feature A Suitable Girl won Best New Documentary Director at Tribeca. She also directs scripted TV, including Never Have I Ever and The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh.

A genuine multi-hyphenate, Vera Drew is a Los Angeles-based director, writer, editor, and actor. Vera won the 2024 Gotham Award for Breakthrough Director for her debut feature film THE PEOPLE’S JOKER. The film has also received a nomination for the 2025 John Cassavetes Award by the Film Independent Spirit Awards and was awarded the The Narrative Committee Renegade Award at the 2024 Indies. THE PEOPLE’S JOKER was released theatrically in the U.S. and Canada by Altered Innocence and had its world premiere in the Midnight Madness section of the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. In 2019, Vera's talent was recognized by the Television Academy with an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Picture Editing For Variety Programming for her work editing Sacha Baron Cohen's Showtime comedy series WHO IS AMERICA. Having creatively incubated at Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim's production company Abso Lutely Productions, Vera has edited and contributed visual effects to dozens of iconic comedy television shows, including CHECK IT OUT! WITH DR. STEVE BRULE (Adult Swim), THE BIRTHDAY BOYS (IFC), KRFT PUNK’S POLITICAL PARTY (Adult Swim), I THINK YOU SHOULD LEAVE (Netflix), COMEDY BANG! BANG! (IFC), and ON CINEMA (Adult Swim). She is further known for her work on AN EMMY FOR MEGAN, her role as producer/director/co-writer of BEEF HOUSE, and for launching the Adult Swim streaming network, Channel 5 for which she wrote and directed four comedy series: I Love David, Tim and Eric Quiz, Scum, and Our Bodies. In 2025, Vera co-starred with Josh Fadem and Barbara Crampton in Mickey Reece’s EVERY HEAVY THING. She also recently served as editor on Alice Maio Mackay’s films CARNAGE FOR CHRISTMAS and THE SERPENT’S NEST. She is currently directing her next feature.

Code of Conduct:

Film Fatales organizes panel discussions, educational workshops and networking mixers amplifying marginalized voices in film and television. Your participation constitutes your consent to being recorded and photographed during the event and to Film Fatales sharing those recordings and photos with the world. Creating an inclusive space requires an acknowledgement of existing power dynamics. If you are from a dominant or privileged identity please practice making space, through listening, unseating yourself, and passing the mic. If you are from a historically marginalized group, please practice taking up space, through sharing your ideas, and raising your voice. We look forward to seeing you soon!

The Alliance for Women Film Composers is a community of composers and colleagues who strive to support and celebrate the work of women and non-binary composers through advocacy and education. This visibility is important to herald in equality amongst our industry and bring diverse voices to film, television, video games and multimedia projects globally. We are proud to host the first ever directory of women film composers allowing filmmakers and decision makers the opportunity to discover new talent.

Film Fatales is a 501(c)3 arts organization and talent discovery platform which supports a membership community of over two thousand feature film and television directors of all marginalized genders. We advocate for hiring equality and inclusive programming practices by working with key decision makers to expand the talent pool, raise the visibility of underrepresented creators and build an equitable film industry for us all.

Paramount delivers premium content to audiences across platforms worldwide. We connect with billions of people—through our studios, networks, streaming services, live events, merchandise, and more. Our studios create content for all audiences, across every genre and format, while our networks and brands forge deep connections with the world’s most diverse audiences. In streaming, our differentiated strategy is scaling rapidly across free, broad pay, and premium.

ReFrame was founded and led by Sundance Institute and WIF (formerly known as Women In Film, Los Angeles). It is an initiative that employs a unique strategy: a peer-to-peer approach, in which ReFrame Ambassadors engage with senior industry decision-makers at over 50 Partner Companies to implement ReFrame systemic change programs.

Founded in 1973 as Women in Film, Los Angeles, WIF has been fighting for gender equity for more than 50 years. Its advocacy, career programs, and research efforts are a driving force for increasing gender representation in Hollywood. WIF works to dismantle gender bias in the screen industries by building the pipeline, sustaining careers, and advocating for change.

Your participation constitutes your consent to being recorded and photographed during the event and to Film Fatales sharing those recordings and photos with the world. Please contact us if you require an accessible accommodation.