A female-led student short film, “Bloomer,” will premiere Friday in the D.I. Hub to kick off the Female Filmmakers Initiative’s (FFI) fall mixer. 

“Bloomer,” curated and directed by FFI’s creative director Alex Thompson, was a group effort by the members in FFI to depict the trials and tribulations of a young woman named Lily entering her 20s. 

The premiere and fall mixer, which will run in the D.I. Hub from 7-9 p.m. Friday, will showcase the short film and also invite students to learn more about FFI.

“It’s ultimately going to be just a whole night to celebrate different women and different art and media forms,” Thompson said. “We’re also going to have two performances by [students] Chloe Robertson and Riley Burke.”

Thompson, a senior digital media production major, reflected on the challenges of being a young woman pursuing her goals to succeed in the film industry. 

“Essentially, the goal was to create a safe space for female and non-binary filmmakers on campus just because the film industry is so male dominated,” she said. “And that tracks down to your college campus. It’s got to start somewhere.”

In the film industry, as in numerous other fields, grappling with a predominant male presence is a common challenge, Thompson said. She said this issue begins as early as one’s college years, with male classmates often taking control of group film projects. 

In response, a group of women at Kent State University took proactive measures by establishing the Female Filmmaker Initiative (FFI).

FFI was founded in 2019 by School of Media and Journalism Assistant Professor Dana White, along with alumna Tierra Tramble and Bobbi Broome, to give young women and non-binary students a platform to work on their craft, Thompson said. 

“I think ultimately the thing that makes it special within, like the Kent State film group, specifically, is that we are one of the only ones that focuses specifically on making films rather than producing them,” Thompson said. 

Along with the premiere of “Bloomer,” FFI will also showcase three other projects and trailer of a project they are currently working on at the mixer. 

Grace Clarke is opinion editor. Contact her at [email protected].