Ashley Maria and Lea-Ann Berst are the director/producer team behind Pioneers In Skirts, a documentary following Ashley’s own story as a director in Hollywood, the sexism and stereotypes she faced, and a candid exploration of how we can all work to “shift the tide” towards equality and fairness within the Hollywood system. it’s a dextrously light-hearted and at the same time serious film that certainly opened my eyes to how much of this stuff we are still dealing with after all these years. Ashley and Lea-Ann happen to be daughter and mother, but the takeaway here is how hard they’ve worked, as a team, to self-distribute this important film through a targeted, well-researched impact campaign. Even though Ashley’s story arises from the disappointing state of gender equality in the film industry, the story of making and distributing Pioneers in Skirts is an uplifting one, and a valuable lesson in how to get out, get a film made, and get it in front of eyeballs with passion, creativity, and hard work.

Pioneers In Skirts

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