TRC Hero Text

Join the
Champions.

A community helping women and non-binary filmmakers get the recognition and the jobs they deserve, and mentoring the decision-makers who will change who gets hired.

Join the community Shorts Fest tickets: Oct 24–25, LA

Our Work

Three ways in, whether you're a filmmaker, a future executive, or someone who just wants to watch great films by women and non-binary artists.

Audience in a Los Angeles theater at TRC Shorts Fest

Puts films
on screens

TRC Shorts Fest. A weekend of panels, screenings, and connection in Los Angeles, now in its third year.

Explore the festival
Mentor and mentee talking at a NextGEN Mentorship Program event

Builds the
pipeline

NextGEN Mentorship Program. Our film industry mentorship and leadership initiative pairs women and non-binary people of color pursuing executive careers with experienced industry leaders.

How the mentorship works
Camera monitor framing a filmmaker interview

Spotlights
the talent

Biweekly newsletter. Features on directors, short-form filmmakers, and below-the-line crew, plus industry news.

Get the newsletter

Why we exist

23%

Women held fewer than 1 in 4 key behind-the-camera jobs on Hollywood's 250 biggest films of 2025.

That share has barely moved since 1998. Women directed just 13% of those films, and their share of cinematographer jobs fell from 12% to 7% in a single year. These are the numbers we're working to change.

Women's share of each role

Top 250 grossing U.S. films, 2025. The dashed line marks 50%, an equal share.

  • Producers28%
  • Executive producers23%
  • Writers20%
  • Editors20%
  • Directors13%
  • Cinema­tographers7%
  • Composers7%
Women's share Below 15% Equal share (50%)

Source: The Celluloid Ceiling, Center for the Study of Women in Television & Film, San Diego State University.

What TRC has built

  • 3years of TRC Shorts Fest
  • 67films screened in LA
  • 160+NextGEN mentees
  • 70+industry mentors
  • 11community partners
Panel of women and non-binary filmmakers on stage at TRC Shorts Fest

LOOK Cinemas Glendale · October 24–25, 2026

TRC Shorts
Fest 2026

A weekend of shorts by women and non-binary filmmakers on the big screen, with panels and plenty of time to meet each other.

Get tickets See the lineup
Haeleigh Royall and Indeana Underhill of Cinematography for Actors Institute

Our nonprofit home

The Reel Champions ×
Cinematography for Actors

TRC has joined the nonprofit umbrella of Cinematography for Actors Institute, which has long uplifted emerging and underrepresented filmmakers and actors. Together, we can reach further.

Read the letter from CFA

Our partners

The theaters, organizations, and community spaces that help us put women and non-binary filmmakers on screen.

  • American Cinematheque
  • Inspire Justice
  • The Alice Initiative
  • Off the Page
  • Strong Asian Lead
  • Gardena Cinema
  • Film Fatales
  • Not Your Daddy's Films
  • The Light Leaks
  • Player One Arcade Bar
  • Junior High & Art Club
Partner with us

Want to host a screening, sponsor a panel, or support NextGEN? Let's talk.