When filmmaking advocate Vikki Mee discovered Dr. Martha M. Lauzen's research on the film industry, finding a dearth of women (16%) in the behind-the-scenes employment in the top films of 2004 (including only 5% of directors), she went straight to the place where she knew she would find a large group of creative and motivated young women: St. Mary's Academy. Mee approached St. Mary's Academy Principal Pat Barr in September 2005 with the idea of a female production program, and the St. Mary's filmmaking class was born.

After launching in January, 2006, the class will hold a premier screening of four films at the Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd., on Wednesday, May 10, at 7:30pm. The event is free, with a suggested donation of five dollars. For more information, contact Shannon More at 503-721-7715.

The extra-curricular, all-female driven class is comprised of 15 St. Mary's students who are taught by three instructors: St. Mary's Theatre Director Shannon More, independent filmmaker Dawn Smallman, and Hollywood Theatre summer teacher Alyson Miller. Guest speakers have included documentary filmmakers Beth Harrington and Ilana Sol. Along with learning how to use the camera, sound, and lighting equipment, the instructors have taught the students about documentary filmmaking, interviewing techniques, and how to condense topics. The resulting films that the students have created include Rock-Step!, Leaps and Bounds, Steel Strings and Doodlesacks, and At the Door.

"We owe so much to Vikki Mee," says More. "She is the inspiration and funding behind this project." A member of the board of Oregon Film & Video Foundation, Mee also convinced Ellen Bergstone Beer, the executive director of Oregon Film & Video Foundation, to significantly collaborate with equipment and planning for the class, as well as a wealth of experience.

In a letter to the editor of MovieMaker magazine, Mee excitedly describes the class and concludes with this musing: "What if every girls' high school in the nation started production programs? Think of the impact!" With this first class and premier screening, her dreams are just beginning to come true.

Film Action Oregon (FAO) works in three areas - educating emerging filmmakers in the art and craft of making documentaries, supporting working artists as they produce new thought-provoking works for the screen, and engaging diverse audiences through programming independent, foreign, and classic films at the 1926 Hollywood Theatre. FAO purchased the historic theatre in 1997 and focused the majority of its energy on preserving the Portland landmark and providing a space for community events and for independent filmmakers to show their work. In 2003, the organization began supporting local film production and soon thereafter began Project Youth Doc, offering summer instruction in documentary production to teenagers.

Founded in 1859 by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, St. Mary's Academy of Portland, is Oregon's oldest continuously operating secondary school and one of 716 all-female schools in the country. The student body represents a diverse background of young women from over 30 urban, suburban, and rural communities in Oregon and Southwest Washington. St. Mary's Academy is distinguished by its development of the whole person, and is the only school in the state to receive three U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon Schools awards.