Virtual See Jane Salon – Engaged As We Age: Changing the Script on Aging

November 16, 2020
9 a.m. PT/12 noon ET

Older adults in popular films are erased, stereotyped and degraded. Why is this and what can we do about it? Join us as we talk about these important questions with an expert panel and present the Institute’s new report, in partnership with TENA, that evaluates representation of aging in the top films in Germany, France, the UK and the US.

PANELISTS

Geena Davis

Founder & Chair
Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media

Lisa Bruce

Award-winning Producer
The Theory of Everything

Lisa Bruce is a two-time Oscar nominated and BAFTA award-winning producer. In 2015 Bruce won the BAFTA Award for Best British Film for The Theory of Everything, which was nominated for a Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Picture. Critically acclaimed, the film won numerous BAFTAs, Golden Globes and international awards. In 2018, Bruce was also nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award for Darkest Hour directed by Joe Wright and starring Gary Oldman. The film garnered multiple BAFTAs, Oscars, a Golden Globe, and received multiple awards internationally.

Bruce was selected as a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as well as the British Academy of Film and TV Arts in 2018. She has produced numerous theatrical films and television movies. Bruce is currently the Creative Executive Producer for the new Amazon Prime anthology film series Welcome to the Blumhouse, highlighting underrepresented, diverse writers and directors.

Anne Carey

President of Production
Archer Gray

Anne Carey is currently President of Production at Archer Gray, an independent film and television production company based in New York City. Carey’s notable recent film credits include the Netflix film Lost Girls directed by Liz Garbus and written by Michael Werwie, starring Amy Ryan; Can You Ever Forgive Me?, directed by Marielle Heller, written by Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty and starring Melissa McCarthy and Richard E. Grant with BAFTA nominations and Academy Award nominations across the board; Academy Award-nominated 20th Century Women written and directed by Mike Mills, starring Annette Bening; Marielle Heller’s The Diary of a Teenage Girl, starring Bel Powley, Kristen Wiig and Alexander Skarsgard; and Mr Holmes, directed by Bill Condon, starring Ian McKellen and Laura Linney.

Tantoo Cardinal

Actor,
Dances With Wolves, Stumptown

A celebrated actor of First Nations and Métis descent, Tantoo Cardinal has a remarkable record on stage, television, and film and has been widely recognized for her contributions to the growth and development of Aboriginal performing arts. Having performed in more than 120 roles in almost 50 years, she broke barriers for onscreen representation of Indigenous peoples and has challenged negative stereotypes throughout her career. Her most famous film roles include multiple Academy Award winner, Dances with Wolves (1990), and Academy Award nominee, Legends of the Fall (1994) and her U.S. television role on Stumptown on ABC TV.

Melanie Hoyes

Industry Inclusion Executive
BFI

Hailing from an academic background, Mel can often be found consuming, musing, analysing and discussing film and popular culture. Having completed postgraduate studies in this area and teaching film and TV at undergraduate level, the BFI has given her the opportunity to use these skills in a contemporary industry context. She completed a BFI research project to historically map ethnic diversity in onscreen representation in UK film for the Black Star season at the BFI Southbank in 2016, ground breaking research and data methodology which she continues to speak about to a variety of audiences. The research was also written up in a piece and Sight & Sound Magazine and an academic collection of essays around black Film and British Cinema. In her role as Industry Inclusion Executive, Mel advocates for increased access and equity in the UK film sector as well as consulting and partnering with global partners to embed diversity and inclusion into policy and practice. In particular, Mel champions the BFI’s Diversity Standards and seeks to establish data and research as a baseline for meaningful change.

Caroline Heldman, PhD

Vice President of Research and Insights
Geena Davis Institute for Gender in Media

Dr. Heldman is Vice President of Research and Insights at the Geena Davis Institute for Gender in Media and a Professor at Occidental College in Los Angeles. Her research specializes in media, the presidency, and systems of power (race, class, gender, disability, age, and body size). Dr. Heldman has authored six books, including Protest Politics in the Marketplace: Consumer Activism in the Corporate Age (Cornell University Press, 2017), Women, Power, and Politics: The Fight for Gender Equality in the United States (Oxford University Press, 2017), and Madame President? Gender & Politics on the Road to the White House (Lynne Reinner, 2020).

Dr. Heldman has been active in “real world” politics as a professional pollster, campaign manager, and commentator for CNN International and Spectrum One. She has also been featured in popular documentaries, including Missrepresentation, The Mask You Live In, The Hunting Ground, Informant, Equal Means Equal, and Liberated. Dr. Heldman was one of many women who went public with allegations of gender discrimination against Bill O’Reilly that led to his firing from Fox News. She splits her time between Los Angeles and New Orleans where she co-founded the New Orleans Women’s Shelter and the Lower Ninth Ward Living Museum. Dr. Heldman also co-founded End Rape on Campus (EROC), Faculty Against Rape (FAR), and End Rape Statute of Limitations (ERSOL).

Madeline Di Nonno

Chief Executive Officer
Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media

Madeline Di Nonno is the Chief Executive Officer of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, the leading research based non-profit working within the entertainment and media industry to achieve gender equity in family media and entertainment. Di Nonno leads the Institute’s strategic direction, advocacy, programs, research, financial and operational activities. Di Nonno brings a track record of successful executive leadership in the entertainment, non-profit, digital and consumer packaged goods industries. Di Nonno is an Executive Producer on the Emmy nominat3ed, People’s Choice and Gracie award winning television series Mission Unstoppable and the Gracie award winning feature film documentary This Changes Everything.

Previously, Di Nonno served as President and CEO of On The Scene Productions, a leader in streaming content creation and distribution. Di Nonno lead the company’s new business development and streaming platforms for clients such as Nike, Gatorade, Iconix, and PepsiCo.

Prior to On The Scene, Di Nonno served in executive positions for Anchor Bay Entertainment/Starz Media and Echo Bridge Home Entertainment where she led global brand marketing, franchise development, acquisitions, and digital media initiatives in North America, United Kingdom and Australia.

As Executive Vice President and GM for formerly Nielsen EDI a leading research provider of theatrical distribution measurement and information, Di Nonno developed new digital product offerings, generatednew business revenue and supervised client management for studio theatrical distribution and exhibition.

Previously, Di Nonno served as Senior Vice President, Marketing Alliances and Digital media at the Hallmark Channel. Di Nonno launched the cable channel and established marketing, digital media, e-commerce, and corporate alliance initiatives. Di Nonno drove revenue-generating, integrated marketing programs with companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Fuji, Universal Pictures, Target, Sony Pictures, Chrysler, and Baskin Robbins. Di Nonno pioneered the Channel’s digital media platforms.

Di Nonno served as an executive at Universal Studios Home Entertainment as Vice President, Strategic Marketing and launched the division’s DVD and digital media platforms. Di Nonno supervised marketing campaigns for theatrical, direct-to-video and library releases such as the Jurassic Park franchise, the Land Before Time Franchise and Universal Classic Monsters Franchise.

Di Nonno’s career started at ABC Television Network in corporate publicity working on communications campaigns for mini-series, sports and daytime, including The Winds of War, The Thorn Birds and the 1984 Olympics.

Di Nonno is U.S. State Department Speaker Specialist and is also a frequent speaker at global conferences, corporations, governmental organizations and festivals, such as AdWeek, Cannes Lion, Chatham House, CES, Kidscreen, London Film Festival, New Zealand Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, The White House, UNESCO, and the United Nations. Di Nonno has been featured in global media outlets such as Adweek, Ad Age, Cosmo, Fast Company, FOX 11, Forbes, Glamour, The Guardian, MediaWeek, Huffington Post, Spectrum TV, The Hollywood Reporter, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Vanity Fair and Variety.

Education
Di Nonno holds a bachelor’s degree from Boston University.

Board Affiliations
Di Nonno serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors for the Television Academy Foundation; Board of Directors Promundo U.S., Population Media Center, and Friends of the Erben Organ. Di Nonno is on the Advisory Board for the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts. Di Nonno was appointed Arts Commissioner by Supervisor Sheila Kuehl for the Los Angeles County Arts Department.

In partnership with Tena

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IF SHE CAN SEE IT, SHE CAN BE IT®