Since the first Women’s Day event, the Women’s Steering Committee (WSC) has brought together talented women members of the Guild to discuss leading topics. On April 11, during their sixth event, Trailblazing Through Vision: How Creative Leaders Drive Change, the Committee honored now DGA Past President Lesli Linka Glatter and Board Alternate Patricia Riggen, two women whose groundbreaking work has expanded opportunity, representation, and artistic excellence in television and film.

Held in the DGA’s Los Angeles theater complex, this sixth annual celebration kicked off with a welcome from WSC Co-Chairs Shaz Bennett, Jade Jenise Dixon and Valerie Weiss and Alternate Co-Chair Liz Ryan, who spoke about how the Committee is the “largest and most diverse of all the committees in our Guild, and we stand on the shoulders of the women who came before us, including these two trailblazers through the work of the DGA and Women's Steering Committee.”

Following the introductions during a conversation moderated by Dixon, Glatter and Riggen engaged in a conversation reflecting on their leadership, legacy, and the evolving landscape for women Directors.

After revealing tidbits about her career such as her first jobs in television on Steven Spielberg’s anthology series Amazing Stories and David Lynch’s surrealist mystery Twin Peaks — where she earned the first of her nine DGA Award nominations — Glatter recalled how she became more involved at the Guild. “When I first came to my first meeting, the Western Directors Council, I hadn’t been elected yet. I looked around and there was this big table and Directors that I looked up to. I don’t think there were any women yet except for Martha Coolidge. I eventually got elected to the Council as an Alternate and I don’t think I spoke for a year. And then I found my voice and I found my community. I found that people were open and willing to hear different points of view. If you are outside of that, come inside and help us change it. I always say, ‘I don’t want to be the smartest person in the room, but I do want to be with the smartest people.’”

Riggen shared the lessons she learned on her first feature film, Under the Same Moon. “I was very shy to call agents myself. I never had the nerve to pick up the phone. While all my male classmates got agents, I didn’t get an agent because I didn’t call. And that’s the lesson. Believe in yourself. Have self-confidence. When I had a feature script, I was able to say, ‘This is the script. And this is me. This is how I can direct,’ and I got the financing for my first feature film. So, make your short or whatever. Be sure you have something that you’re passionate about. That’s your presentation card. Because we don’t have a diploma that says you’re a Director.”

Speaking of working in television, Glatter said, “I have never approached television differently, and I have directed a bunch of pilots. Being a serious Director and going into someone else's sandbox is a bit different, but you still have to tell an impeccable story. Use everything that you have as an opportunity to hone your craft and tell your story in the best way possible."

Riggen closed by speaking about the importance of representation. “Keep supporting organizations like the DGA and groups and teams and keep pushing the studios and executives and everyone who makes decisions. We need women and people of color in the rooms making the decisions of who to hire. Because as long as there is no representation there, they’re not going to understand the story that you’re bringing.”

Video from this event coming soon to the gallery below.

ABOUT THE PANELISTS:

ABOUT THE COMMITTEE:

The Women's Steering Committee (WSC) was created to advance the professional interests of its members, and to heighten their visibility and career opportunities in the entertainment industry. The WSC currently promotes diversity through sponsoring net-working events, screenings and seminars, and fosters relationships between the members to provide support, mentoring and networking opportunities.

• For more information about the WSC, click here to visit their webpage.