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Membership in GRIT is broken into two categories. MEMBERS: As GRIT is a director-driven organization, “members” are women who have directed at least one film, feature or short. Dues for members are currently $35 per year. ASSOCIATE MEMBERS: Professional women actively involved in the filmmaking process in a capacity other than directing, such as writers, actors, composers, producers, etc., are able to join GRIT as associate members. All the benefits of membership are available to associate members with two exceptions: participation in the Steering Committee and infrequent voting on issues dealing with the group’s direction. Dues for associate members are currently $30 per year. Ratio of Members to Associate Members: To maintain GRIT’s integrity as a director-driven organization, we maintain a ratio of at least 75% directors. All members and associate members must be female. Day to day, GRIT
is run by a steering committee of three, founder Shawn Tolleson,
co-founder Genevieve Anderson and member Mary Steinborn.
STEERING COMMITTEE
In 2003, she was participated in a runner-up (top 5 from over 500) for the ABC/DGA Episodic Directing Fellowship. Shawn began her formal training at the North Carolina School of the Arts School of Drama as an actor and director, performing in more than seventy plays before turning to directing. As a theater director she has staged productions of Shakespeare’s King Henry IV, Part 1, and Howard Korder’s Boys’ Life, and adapted to the stage and directed the Tennessee Williams short story In Memory of An Aristocrat. She also has written and directed three short films that have played internationally in over 20 film festivals including Brussels and Brno. Shawn also wrote and directed thirteen episodes of Dean Devlin’s The Visitor.com, the first show on the worldwide web created parallel to a network television show. In 1999, she founded Girls Reeling It Together, aka GRIT, a director-driven organization of professional female filmmakers committed to cultivating the diverse female perspective in cinema, expanding the presence of female filmmakers, and building an audience for films directed by women. GRIT has hosted three industry screenings and has been profiled in the LA Times, LA Weekly and dozens of newspapers in the U.S. and abroad. Contact Shawn Tolleson: stolleson@writeme.com back to member list
Genevieve was introduced to puppetry in 1996 through
Art Gruenberger (of PuppetArt Puppet Theater) and Heather Henson,
the youngest of the Jim Henson family. In her 10 years in Los Angeles,
she has worked for the Mark Taper Forum, Women in Film, and currently
production manages for acclaimed video artist Bill Viola. Her puppetry
has lead to work in commercials (Target), music videos (Paul Simon),
and an album cover for celebrated jazz artist James Carney. In 2002
she, her brother, and mother formed Anderson Co., a family run business
creating one-of-a-kind puppets in hand-crafted boxes. Their work
has shown and sold in Sarasota, Florida, Tubac, Arizona, and Santa
Fe, New Mexico. Boxed - (12 min.; digibeta/16mm; puppets) Contact Genevieve Anderson: genevievea@earthlink.net back to member list
Contact Mary Steinborn: marysteinborn@yahoo.com back to member list MEMBERS
Traci graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Georgia with a double major in Graphic Design and Art Education. She also has a certificate from UCLA in Marketing and Distribution for the Entertainment Industry. Her interest in independent film led her to write, produce and direct her own short film, Five O'clock Shadow, which went on to play in a number of film festivals both in the US and abroad. Her account of the making of this film appears in the book Making Independent Films: Advice From the Filmmakers by Liz Stubbs and Richard Rodriquez. Contact Traci Carroll: Traci.Carroll@warnerbros.com back to member list Sydney Daniels
began her career in the Entertainment Industry
in the News and Documentary Departments at NBC affiliate KRON-TV
in San Francisco. In Los Angeles and New York, she worked for six
years as a professional actress, appearing on stage in You’re
A Good Man, Charlie Brown, and in commercials and print ads
for Charmin, Cheer, and Von’s, among others. Settling in Los
Angeles, she took Temp assignments as an Executive Assistant at
Disney, Dreamworks, NBC, and Warner Bros., in Administration, Animation,
Business Affairs, Development, Human Resources, and Legal. As a
Graphic Artist, she did ink-and-paint on an animated commercial
for Dannon Yogurt, and on the animated short Shadow of Doubt,
and did rotoscoping on the independent feature Only Hope.
She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Screenwriting, with a Women's
Studies minor. Currently getting her Master’s in Screenwriting,
she has lectured on Film History and Theory. She recently finished
directing and editing two commercials for local cable, one of which
she also wrote and produced. These showcase her strengths in working
with actors in comedic and slice-of-life scenarios. She wants to
direct more commercials, and to write and direct films with strong
female protagonists.
You can see more of Paige Donner’s work at: Contact Paige Donner: jupiterproductions@yahoo.com back to member list
Before becoming a director herself, Marty was a distinguished DGA Assistant Director, shepherding such high profile films and television shows as Driving Miss Daisy, Steel Magnolias, Mystic Pizza, Hill Street Blues, Picket Fences, The Grass Harp, Amazing Stories, Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, Once and Again, Inherit the Wind, My Favorite Martian and Six Feet Under. In this capacity, she learned from and worked side by side with the best: Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Donald Petrie, Bruce Beresford, Herbert Ross, Dan Petrie, Danny DeVito, and Clint Eastwood. Contact Marty Elcan: scottnmarty@sbcglobal.net back to member list
Sara assisted in the recent production of Seven Veils, a film documenting the current Islamic Women’s movement. She is also working as an editor and videographer for a series of country music films, notably a progressive documentary about Merle Haggard emphasizing reform in the California Youth Authority Institutions. Sara currently works for Flaming Angel Films and will begin a new series of work dedicated to interactive web based video and media literacy education for children. Her works in progress include a cooking show, music videos and documentary shorts designed for internet release. Sara is most interested in utilizing emerging technologies and the Internet as a means for collaboration, education and self-distribution. Contact Sara Ivicevich: ivicevich@gmail.com back to member list Roberta L. Kenney, Producer/Writer/Director, has worked as a freelance filmmaker since 1994, producing public service announcements, industrials, and a documentary on The Andy Warhol Museum's Miss Fifteen Minutes of Fame Pageant, which was the first public acknowledgement by the Carnegie Institute of Andy's homosexuality. The documentary was shown at the 1997 Pittsburgh Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. Contact Roberta Kenney: rlkenney@excite.com back to member list
Kaye, a serious photographer since 1992, began a portrait book project in 1995, traveling to thirteen states and photographing seventy of her old friends with a 1953 Rolleiflex twin-lens camera and making silver gelatin prints in her darkroom. She has recently completed the rewrite of her first feature script, Grace’s Place. Filmography: Betty’s Treats – (7:08 minutes,
mini-DV, 24p, live-action) Contact Kaye Kittrell: kaye@kayekittrell.com back to member list Renie Oxley, Writer/Director. A lawyer by degree and a director at heart, Renie served her time in courtrooms and conference rooms throughout the United States, all the while studying screenwriting and filmmaking on the side. Finally giving in to her true passion, Renie quit her job as an attorney and moved from Detroit to Los Angeles. Active in the Detroit film community, Renie served on the Board of Directors of the non-profit Detroit Film Coalition and worked on numerous local film productions. Renie’s films have appeared in variety of film festivals around the world. In addition to writing and directing, Renie has directed plays in theatre companies in both Los Angeles and Detroit. Her feature documentary, Irene's Last Call, screened in numerous domestic and international festivals. Renie is currently editing her short film Terminal - a suspense story. She is represented by ICM. Filmography: Terminal (short; 15min; minidv) Contact Renie Oxley: sagepictures@comcast.net back to member list
In addition to her pursuit of writing and directing opportunities, Liz works at Ascent Media in feature film post production and maintains a blog at www.everydaygoddess.net. She is also a contributing editor for Blogher and "writer-in-residence" for Wax Poetic Salon & Gallery in Burbank. She has a passion for television and hopes to soon break into one-hour episodic directing. Contact Liz Rizzo: liz_riz217@earthlink.net back to member list
Contact Jill Rytie: jar@thewheelhouse.com
Filmography: SHORTS SHORT FEATURE SHORT DOCUMENTARIES MUSIC VIDEO Contact Ada Shaw: adasusan@cs.com back to member list
During her time in Hollywood, Sharon has worked for numerous studios and production companies such as Universal Studios, Warner Bros. (features and television), Fox Television, Imagine Entertainment, Carsey-Werner and Tree Line Film. As a director, Sharon works to establish and communicate a vision which honors the heart of the story, creating an environment where everyone's ideas and talents blend together in support of that vision. Sharon is a communicator in every sense of the word, communicating to cast, crew and most importantly, to the audience. Contact Sharon Steinhauser: steinhauser@radarpictures.com
Contact Laurence Walsh: laurencewalsh@prodigy.net back to member list
Filmography: A Fairy Tale Life – writer/director
(:30 teaser, 35mm, live-action Fantasy) Contact Julie Anne Wight: julieannewight@yahoo.com back to member list
Contact Jennifer Blair: jenjoy@earthlink.net back to member list
For a complete resume, bio and online reel, please
visit: Contact Deborah Puette: puette.st.amant@sbcglobal.net back to member list |
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Shawn
Tolleson, Writer/Director/GRIT
Founder. 2005 was a banner year for Shawn. In the August, she sold
her romantic comedy pitch Down, Boy! to Warner Independent
Pictures. 2005 also marked the beginning of her collaboration with
actor Martin Sheen, who signed on to play the role of King Henry
in Shawn’s screen adaptation of Shakespeare’s Henry
IV. Shawn will direct the film this year. In July, Shawn met
with Oscar-nominated actress Sophie Okonedo who agreed to play the
lead role in Shawn’s original screenplay, Yazoo Cryin'.
Also while in London, Shawn met with actor/director Kenneth Branagh,
who has been gracious enough to advise her on Shakespeare’s
Henry IV. In 2004, Shawn directed three plays, two of them
at the renowned MET Theatre in Los Angeles-- Joshua Rebell’s
Black Tie Affairs, and the world premiere of Sam Shepard’s
world premiere one act play, It Wasn’t Proust. Shawn
was also invited to attended the Sundance Producer’s Conference,
where she met producer Meta Valentic. 
Genevieve
Anderson, Writer/Director, GRIT
Co-Founder, received a BFA from the University of California at
Santa Barbara, CA, where she minored in sociology and phenomenology.
She subsequently studied and then worked with acclaimed movement
theater artists James Donlon and Sigfrido Aguilar nationally and
internationally. She has created theater with the Los Angeles Mental
Health Association, worked with Guerilla Theater (Santa Barbara)
Kitchen Theater (Los Angeles), and wrote two original plays in conjunction
with Stand Theaterworks. She bases her film work on the primary
tenets of movement theater: raw imagination, ingenuity, and a deconstruction
of the ordinary to find the essence of experience. She combines
these principles in a technique of puppet animation she calls “live
animation” because it is neither stop-motion nor classic live
action. Her films have played at numerous festivals worldwide, and
have won awards at festivals such as Berlin, Chicago, Seattle, and
Rhode Island. Genevieve is a 2004 recipient of the prestigious Rockefeller
Media Artists Grant.
Mary
Steinborn, Director/Producer, trained
at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and the Central School of Speech
& Drama in London, after receiving an honors degree in English
Lit from UC Berkeley. Over the last ten years, Steinborn has directed,
produced and acted in theatre in Europe, as well as worked in production
on studio and independent features, television and radio, here in
the U.S. She co-created, produced and co-hosted Pacifica Public
Radio’s daily interview talk show, Aware, and has
served as a consulting producer on various shows, including NPR’s
Talk of the Nation. Steinborn was the production and post-production
coordinator on the HBO special: Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm,
which became a Golden Globe and Emmy winning series. Currently in
development, her second film, Hands Off Me, was a finalist
for the Roy W. Dean film grant, given to documentaries with a humanitarian
focus.
Traci
Carroll, Writer/Director/Producer,
is a Creative Manager for Warner Home Video. While working at Warner,
she has lead the creative direction on DVD menus, packaging and
advertising for a variety of live action and animated titles including
The Polar Express, GoodFellas Special Edition,
After Hours, The Color Purple Special Edition,
Scooby-Doo animated movies and series, DC Comics animated
series, Marvel Comics' X-Men: Evolution, and a number of
multi-disc DVD collections from Hanna-Barbera including The
Flintstones, The Jetsons and Top Cat. Prior
to her move to Los Angeles, Traci worked as Senior Designer and
Art Director for the Atlanta Regional Commission where she developed
a number of award-winning communications pieces. While living in
Atlanta, she also served on the Board of Directors for IMAGE Film
& Video Center, the largest independent media arts organization
in the South East. She was a member of the board for five years,
including 2 consecutive years as President and Vice President. During
her tenure at IMAGE, she was also a member of the Fulton County
Arts Council's Grant Review Panel, helping to guide the funding
and development of worthy community-based art projects.
Paige
Donner, Writer/Director, received
a degree from UCSD and the University of Hawaii in political science.
Since then she has worked as a segment producer and associate producer
in broadcast jounalism, both in Houston, Texas and in Oakland, California.
Paige has currently written two comedies, Fly Me To The Moon
and Murder by Numbers, an action script, Watching You
Watching Me, an animation script The Bottle Imp, and
two other screenplays, Glimpses of the Moon and Shiva.
She is currently in development on Comedy Jackpot - a game
show, Reality Spoof - a comedy spoof on reality shows,
and The Gambler - a one hour dramatic series set in Las
Vegas.
Marty
Elcan, Director, is a member
of the Directors Guild with twenty two years of production experience
in film. Her first short film, There Goes the Groom, was a hit on
the Film Festival circuit and won several major awards including
First place in the U.S. Film and Video Festival, the CINE Festival's
prestigious Golden Eagle Award, Best Short in Festival in the Hope
and Dreams Film Festival as well as numerous others including special
mentions from Worldfest and the New York International Film and
Video Competition. She went on to direct an episode of the successful
FOX series, Beyond Belief, the opening sequence for the
feature film Walking Across Egypt, 2nd Unit for the CBS
television pilot Destiny, multiple award-winning national
environmental Public Service Announcements, a commercial, an internet
pilot, and a documentary that was nominated for a Los Angeles Emmy
Award. Her recent second short film, The Hit, has been
in sixteen film festivals and has won a Chris Award, 1st place and
a Special Jury Award at the CINE Golden Eagle Festival, Best Short
in Festival at the Thunderbird Festival in Utah, and a World Medal
at the New York Festivals. She has just completed a well-received
30-second commercial spot for MoveOn.org and recently directed a
music video called Survivor to benefit Day of the Child,
an organization that helps child-abuse victims, airing on the SkyAngel
Satellite network.
Sara
Mora Ivicevich, Director, made several
student documentaries at UCLA, focusing on the art of collaboration
and the deconstruction of gender-biased language. Sara employs video
as a means to amplify the female voice. Her main subjects include
women artists, musicians and dancers. Other bodies of work concentrate
on the collaborative and experimental music making process. These
bodies of work celebrate the art of sound produced in unconventional
and raw order. Sara has also documented the contemporary wave of
electronic music, focusing on female DJ’s and producers in
Los Angeles. 
Kaye
Kittrell, Actress/Filmmaker/Fine
Art Photographer, debuted as a writer/director in 2004 with the
award-winning short film, Betty's Treats, a 1957 comic
love tale with a twist, which premiered in 2005 in five sold-out
screenings at the Sarasota Film Festival. “I just wanted to
see if I could do it,” says Kaye, of making her first film.
Originally from Tennessee, Kaye has devoted over twenty years to
acting, seven in New York City where she studied with Wynn Handman,
working on soaps and commercials, in a SoHo repertory company, and
with the likes of Billy Crystal and Eddie Murphy in numerous appearances
on Saturday Night Live. During the last fifteen years in Los Angeles,
Kaye worked on Alias, Misconceptions, Gilmore
Girls, Becker, Titus, Cheers, Wings,
Dr. Quinn, Unsolved Mysteries, The Bold &
the Beautiful, General Hospital, and numerous award-winning
films, notably The Snow Child opposite Sam Hennings, as
well as in dozens of commercials and in Equity-waiver theatre. Kaye
played the Mistress, one of three female lead roles, opposite Susan
Clark, in Edna O’Brien’s Triptych at The Matrix
Theatre in January 2006. 
Liz
Rizzo, Director, graduated the Florida
State University Graduate Film Program in 2002 and landed in Los
Angeles 11 days later. She has directed three film shorts: Add
a Dash of Glitter, Privates, and the award-winning
35mm film short, Every Little Girl's Dream. In 2005, Liz’s
Women in Film public service announcement for Kids Korps USA received
network airtime. Most recently, Liz has shadowed on the television
shows Medium and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
Jill
Rytie, Producer/Director. Rytie's
film directorial debut, Chicken Pox Dipper, premiered at
the Atlanta Film Festival in 1999. Before making movies, she graduated
from the University of Georgia and interned with the Academy of
Television Arts and Sciences. Currently, she works as a development
and production executive at Wheelhouse Entertainment, and is traveling
to Turkey this summer to produce her second documentary, Where
East Meets West: Women Who Dare. 
Ada
Shaw, Writer/Director, received an
MFA in Film Production from USC in 1998. She has written and directed
six short films, three short documentaries, and one short feature.
She is currently in pre-production on two feature projects: Rhythm
of the Wind, a film about a gypsy flamenco dancer who flies
in the face of Spanish tradition, and Breaking Borders,
a story about a young Polish boy who honors the beliefs of his very
religious Jewish grandfather, even as he struggles to survive the
many terrible experiences of WWII. Ada is currently in post production
on Montgomery’s War, a feature documentary about
an African American veterinarian who single-handedly integrated
a small town in Oklahoma - 15 years ahead of the rest of the country.
Sharon
Steinhauser, Director. Born in Geneva,
Switzerland and raised in Colorado, Sharon began her film career
at the age of seven as a cameraman/special effects supervisor/makeup
artist/director’s assistant on her brother’s James Bond
film, The Man You Love To Hate. Although the film only
had a limited release (the basement, and friends’ houses),
the movie was a huge hit (with family and friends). She graduated
from University of Colorado, studying Economics and Classics. After
working as a professional horse trainer and then an investment manager,
Sharon hit her stride with her childhood dream of pursuing a film
career. She directed an independent sit-com pilot, which she co-wrote.
She and a friend were one of ten filmmakers chosen to have their
short, Guns On The Table produced and premiered at the
Flicks On 66 Film Festival, becoming a crowd favorite during the
summer of 2000. She has written eight features, several TV specs
and pilots, directed four projects. 
Laurence
Walsh, Director/Writer/Producer,
writes for the CBS hit show, NCIS, starring Mark Harmon.
Prior to that, she co-wrote eight episodes of CSI: Miami,
spanning across two seasons. Her Production company, Woolfy Snack
Productions produced her debut short film, The Kiss Off,
a 1940’s noir comedy set to hit the festival circuit this
fall. Having graduated from UCLA with a triple major in English,
Philosophy and Theater, Laurence plans to direct “philosophically-based
action movies,” a la Alfred Hitchcock meets John Woo. Woo
became Laurence’s mentor in 1996 and eventually attached himself
to produce a pilot she wrote which sold to FX Networks. She also
has a one-hour sci-fi action series for producer John Leekley in
development. Repped by CAA, Laurence has also written for USA Networks,
Alliance Atlantis and Universal.
Julie
Anne Wight, Writer/Director, received
her BFA in Broadcasting and Cinematic Arts from Central Michigan
University, where she wrote, directed and produced two campus television
episodic shows. Julie Anne went on to earn an MFA from the Florida
State University Graduate Film Conservatory, concentrating her studies
in writing, directing, producing and camera operating. Two of her
short films, Kiss, a 16mm film she wrote and directed,
and the 35mm thesis film she produced, Every Little Girl's Dream,
have both gone on to earn her honors at several film festivals throughout
the United States. Julie Anne has also written two feature film
scripts, one of which she is developing as her first feature directing
project, and in Fall 2005 she directed a Public Service Announcement
produced through Women in Film, LA. She is currently being mentored
by Academy Award-nominated writer and director, Nancy Meyers.
Deborah
Puette, Actress, is the recipient
of Chicago's preeminent Joseph Jefferson Citation for her work on
stage. In her professional debut, Deborah originated the lead role
in the critically acclaimed world premiere of the Pulitzer Prize-nominated
The Glory of Living at Circle Theatre. She was awarded
the Joseph Jefferson Citation for Outstanding Performance by a Lead
Actress. Also in Chicago: Toys in the Attic (Lily), Bus
Stop (Cherie–After Dark Award), The Skin of Our Teeth
(Gladys), American Theatre Company, A Yard of Sun (Grazia),
Famous Door, and Europe (Katia), Mary-Arrchie
Theater. Los Angeles: Abstract Expression (Jenny), Chautauqua
Theatre Alliance, 7 MET Shorts, the MET, Pera Palas (Anne/Neyime,
Ovation Nomination). Her work in television and film includes Love
is the Drug (Slamdance 2006) and Repose, as well as
television roles in Strong Medicine, Cupid, and
Lawrence Melm.