By Virginia Schneider
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 9/10/2024 — Four trailblazing women in film—K.D. Chalk, Kim Cohen, Nicole Crespo, and Pinar Binay—have united over the past year to produce three short films, showcasing their collective talent, vision, and dedication to female-forward stories.
The four filmmakers met at the prestigious Film Independent Project Involve Program, which brings together underrepresented voices to write, develop and produce their diverse projects as a team. Their films, August & Ebony, Survived By, and Carnivora, captivated audiences with their powerful and diverse narratives at the Oscar-qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival this past August.
Actor, director, writer, producer K.D. Chalk’s short film Survived By tells the story of a newly orphaned girl, who dodges the foster care System while hoping to unpack her complicated relationship with her father days after his death. Survived By was the winner of the Audience Award at Dances With Films in June.
August & Ebony is a queer comedy exploring themes of chosen family and parenthood. Carnivora is a Latinx horror that tells the story of two estranged sisters forced to become caretakers of their catatonic grandmother after their mother vanishes.
THT spoke with Pinar Binay, who worked on all three films about the creative process of this remarkable team. Binay fell in love with producing at NYU. “While in college I met who the boss was in all the projects and I said, ‘I want that!’ Binay grew up putting on shows with friends and directed theatre. She enjoyed putting all the pieces together. “Producing is never just about one thing, the variety of tasks involved, the teamwork, it’s such a varied skill set.”
Binay’s early experience included working as a production manager and later with a management company. The latter role taught her that talent cares as much about the story as the production team. That she says, is key to attaching talent, an important aspect in filmmaking. “Talent wants to be part of something they feel needs to be told. So explain why a story is important, for example send a personal note to the talent and their representative.”
During the Film Independent Project Involve Program, each filmmaker’s short film was brought to life while each creative in turn worked on the other’s projects in various production positions. Binay emphasized the importance of this exchange of support–it’s not just monetary contributions that are essential in filmmaking but building long term partnerships and developing personal skill sets as a team that is so valuable. “You go to set with the same people and you see yourself improve. It becomes a well-oiled machine,” said Binay. “I enjoy things that ask a new question, creating an emotion in the audience. When they (the audience) become more open minded, that’s beautiful.”
When asked what advice she gives to filmmakers Binay suggests, when you know what you want to do, make sure to do something toward that every day. Sometimes that means meeting one new person, reading a new script and it’s staying curious for sure. For now, Binay says she will finish the festival runs for all three films as attending festivals she feels is the best way to connect with audiences. August & Ebony and Survived By are heading next to the Micheaux Film Festival in Los Angeles in October.
As for the four female powerhouse creatives, Binay says “It’s been an inspiration to work together with K.D., Nicole, and Kim. It’s rare to find such talented and kind collaborators who share your creative vision, and it’s just an added bonus that we are all powerful women. Building community in front of and behind the camera is at the heart of our filmmaking.”
Follow these films to stay in the loop:
August & Ebony:
https://www.instagram.com/augustandebonyfilm/
For all updates on Survived By:
https://survivedbyfilm.com
For more information on Micheaux Film Festival and to find screenings:
https://www.micheauxfilmfest.com
