Watch Past Impact Relay Events

The Pioneers in Skirts Global Impact Movie Relay initiative supports programs that lead to a gender equal world.

Our Aim: To help activist organizations utilize our film to boost their existing programs that elevate women & girls and address gender equity and equality issues. – Learn More –

Watch a sampling of the power of film in action!

March 2022: Pioneers in Skirts screened in partnership with the Women’s Entrepreneurship Access Center (WEAC) for their International Women’s Day celebration. The movie was LIVE screened via Zoom with the filmmakers there to answer questions and engage with the audience. The virtual movie screening was followed by a discussion titled: SHE LEADS; the woman behind her business.

December 11, 2021: Pioneers in Skirts screened for the Youth Leaders and Young Professionals/NGO CSW NY to their advocates. The movie was LIVE screened via Zoom with the filmmakers there to answer questions and engage with the advocates in chat!

October 2021: Pioneers in Skirts screened at the Wake Young Women’s Leadership Academy for their International Day of the Girl celebration. The movie was LIVE screened via Zoom with the filmmakers there to answer questions and engage with the students in chat!

July 31, 2021: Pioneers in Skirts screened the film to help build awareness for the unique issues that women face when running for office in the Zambia. The participants also spoke about how to drive action towards change so that more women feel more comfortable and welcome to go after positions in Government.

Pioneers Attends Week-Long NAU Event

Watch The Invitation Message

Meet the Filmmakers!

Contact Ashley Maria

Director/Producer/Writer

Contact LWB

Producer/Writer

Pioneers in Skirts is an Emmy-nominated 60-min impact documentary about the obstacles that can limit a girl’s or woman’s pioneering ambition, and what we ALL can do about it.

Watch the movie trailer

Statewide Northern Arizona University students, faculty and community friends are invited to attend one of many free live screening events during the week of September 18, 2023!

  • Monday, 9/18, 5-7 pm Cline Library Assembly Hall
  • Tuesday, 9/19, 6-8 pm Cline Library Assembly Hall
  • Wednesday, 9/20, 7pm, Award Ceremony (invitation event)
    • Eunson Award event honoring Quinn Snyder at the School of Communication  
    • The Associated Press-Robert R. Eunson ceremony honors the memory of Robert R. Eunson, a 1930s graduate of NAU who went on to a distinguished career as a correspondent and executive with the Associated Press. Every year a journalism alum of NAU receives the AP-Eunson Alumni Achievement Award in Journalism.    
        
  • Thursday, 9/21, 6pm, LIVE online Watch Party with the filmmakers
    • Watch from the comfort of your home, interact with the filmmakers, and chat with each other as you watch the movie!
    • RSVP: https://bit.ly/pioneer-e-nau
        
  • Friday,  9/22, 2-3pm Pioneer Action Workshop.  Explore your role in the solution and develop actionable items related to stereotyping and sexism.

For more information email Professor Hampton: Nicole.Hampton@nau.edu.

For Women Deliver 2023 Attendees!

a special note for in-person and online registrants

We are the mother/daughter filmmaking team that produced the film Pioneers in Skirts — an official movie selection of the Women Deliver 2023 Conference.

Did you miss our film during the Tuesday (July 18) showing in the Virunga Tent / Kigali Convention Centre? Not to worry! You can watch the film in the comfort of your home or office online! THIS LINK WILL STAY LIVE FOR 30 DAYS.

Watch PIONEERS IN SKIRTS -- An Official Movie Selection of Women Deliver 2023

You must sign-in to the Women Deliver portal with your email & password.

The story behind Pioneers in Skirts examines the barriers and setbacks women confront in their careers while addressing the stereotyping and sexism that can chip away at a woman or a girl, hurt her potential, and make her feel like she must re-think her dreams.

A screening of Pioneers in Skirts can raise awareness for cultural biases and prejudices, empower others to know that they aren’t alone, encourage productive and meaningful discussions, and generate action.

Language: English | 60-min runtime
Closed captioning: English
Subtitles: Spanish, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, French, German, Russian, Arabic

After you watch the film and realize a possible fit for your organization to better engage with your community in conversations around gender equity, inclusion, and action — it may interest you to know that we’re offering a FREE movie screening to qualified activists all over the globe.

Called the Pioneers in Skirts Global Impact Movie Relay, this movie program is for groups who elevate women & girls, work to advance women into leadership roles, and address gender equality issues.

Learn More About (and apply for) This Movie Program Here

As part of the WD2023 conference, Pioneers in Skirts is proud to continue to serve as a formal UN Women Generation Equality Commitment Maker focused on driving policy and accountability mechanisms on behalf of women around the globe.

By making a commitment under the umbrella of Generation Equality, we have been able to amplify and expand our commitment to gender equality and be part of a major global effort to accelerate investment and progress for women and girls around the world.

Thank you, and enjoy the film!

Lea-Ann W. Berst (Producer) & Ashley Maria (Director)

Contact us: HERE.
Learn more about the film: HERE.

Ashley Maria on Set with Lea-Ann Berst in Raleigh, NC
Change inspired

Pioneers in Skirts Documentary Film Featured at Women Deliver Conference

July 17-20, 2023 Kigali, Rwanda

HOLLYWOOD, CA, UNITED STATES, July 14, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ — Emmy Nominated Pioneers in Skirts Documentary film by Director Ashley Maria and Producer Lea-Ann Berst are showcasing the movie at the WD2023 Arts and Film Festival (WDAFF), a special feature of the Women Deliver 2023 Conference. Featured filmmakers tell the stories and show the faces behind Women Deliver’s mission of improving the health, rights, and well-being of girls and women around the world.

The Women Deliver 2023 Conference will take place in person in Kigali, Rwanda, as well as virtually, from 17-20 July 2023. As one of the largest multi-sectoral convenings to advance gender equality, WD2023 will convene 6,000 people in Kigali and 200,000+ people online through the virtual Conference and a six-month Global Dialogue leading up to the Conference.

Pioneers in Skirts is proud to continue to serve as a formal Generation Equality Commitment Maker focused on driving policy and accountability mechanisms on behalf of women around the globe.
— Lea-Ann Berst, Producer

As part of the WD2023 conference, Pioneers in Skirts is proud to continue to serve as a formal Generation Equality Commitment Maker focused on driving policy and accountability mechanisms on behalf of women around the globe.

By making a commitment under the umbrella of Generation Equality, we have been able to amplify and expand our commitment to gender equality and be part of a major global effort to accelerate investment and progress for women and girls around the world.

This global event and its recognition of the film is a culmination of local, regional, and national laurels and keynote stages for women who deserve support and a platform for change. Pioneers in Skirts would like to acknowledge and thank WD2023 for its continued advocacy and action for women.

Women Deliver 2023’s Objectives:

• Catalyze Collective Action to Advance Gender Equality
• Hold Leaders Accountable
• Empower the Feminist Movement
• Reframe Who Leads
• Create Space

Pioneers in Skirts held its film festival debut at the Downtown LA Film Festival in October 2019, winning Ashley Maria the Best New Director award. The film has continued to win awards and recognition since that time as it makes its way through film festivals, keynote speeches, national women’s organizations, including the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, broadcast play on PBS television stations across the country, a featured film at SXSW EDU, and more.

A recent Regional Emmy nomination validates the film’s positive mission of being a catalyst for meaningful conversations about taking action against cultural bias, sexism, and unfair stereotypes.

For more information on showing the film at your school, company or community organization, please visit: pioneersinskirts.com/host/.

Movie mini poster

CTE Fair May 3, 2023

The Producers of Pioneers in Skirts are excited to be part of the Savvas Learning CTE Fair on May 3rd! We’ve been invited to speak with teachers & students twice that day on the topics of:
  1. what it’s like to work on a movie set, and

  2. best practices for making a positive impact with students when screening a film at school.
 
FREE event for Students and Educators! Sessions feature a highly distinguished lineup of both industry and #CTE experts who will share what it’s like to work in these fields, and the skills needed for success.
 
Register FREE today: http://ow.ly/76HO50NKGA4

Pioneers in Skirts to Screen at SXSW EDU

SXSW EDU official selection

Pioneers in Skirts to Screen at the Acclaimed SXSW EDU Conference and Festival

The daughter-mother filmmaking team will attend with their special guests from North Carolina’s Wake Young Women’s Leadership Academy.

Los Angeles, CA, Release: February 8, 2023. For Immediate Release

A movie about ambition, Pioneers in Skirts is one of just three films invited to screen under the Accessibility & Inclusion track at the SXSW EDU® Conference being held March 6-9, 2023 in Austin, Texas.

SXSW EDU is a reflection of the world’s most critical social issues as seen through the lens of education. This year’s event will bring together the learner, the practitioner, the entrepreneur, and the visionary to share their groundbreaking stories, tackle complex issues, and build re-imagined paths forward.

post screening discussion
On Wednesday March 8th, the festival will screen the documentary “Pioneers in Skirts: A Movie About Ambition.” The screening will be followed by a discussion with the filmmakers and their invited guests.

“We are honored to be joined on stage by two highly experienced Educators for a post-screening conversation about how to use the power of this film to positively interact with and influence students,” shared Director Ashley Maria. “We’re also extremely excited the festival gave us the March 8th slot — which is International Women’s Day!”

International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. #EmbraceEquity

The Wake Young Women’s Leadership Academy (WYWLA) Educators, Sharon Cuffee and Frank Reed, will share their experiences of how the film helped their students self-reflect about their own lives, careers, and how they feel about the topics in the film.

WYWLA, located in Raleigh, North Carolina, has hosted two movie screenings in front of students, one via a LIVE Zoom event and another in a school venue. “Pioneers in Skirts proved to have a long-term impact at the school and with teachers,” described Producer Lea-Ann W. Berst. “Even though this is why we made the film, it’s always humbling to hear how it becomes a catalyst for meaningful conversations about awareness and opportunities.”

ABOUT THE FILM

In a portrait of perseverance and determination, the Pioneers in Skirts filmmakers, Ashley Maria and Lea-Ann W. Berst, follow the journeys of 3 unforgettable girls on a robotics team, their fathers, and Lily, a woman fearful her pregnancy news will fault her raise negotiations. The film uses Ashley’s own story as a female director in Hollywood as the through line while also featuring fellow pioneering women and topic experts who have solutions to share.

March 8 SXSW EDU speakers

ABOUT SXSW EDU

As a community of diverse people who are united around a like-minded vision for the future, SXSW EDU serves as a place for attendees to renew their purpose in practice from both a personal and professional perspective. It is a place to reinforce the core principles of teaching and learning as well as an opportunity to express your creativity and passion for education. SXSW EDU is a component of the South by Southwest® family of conferences and festivals that has grown from 800 to over 8,000 registrants in the last decade. Join the passionate and innovative community at SXSW EDU, March 6-9, 2023.