The Broad Humor Film Festival is a

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theater, cinemas or screening venues, usually annually and in a single city or region. Some film festivals show films outdoors or online. Films may be of recent ...

that takes place every year in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. It focuses exclusively on comedic films written and directed by women. Begun in 2005, it is held yearly in the summer months and brings together female writers and directors for a weekend of screenings, readings and events with the aim of fostering greater opportunity for women as the creators of film content. The festival has film and screenplay competitions for both feature-length and short films. Projects can be narrative or

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

. In addition, the festival offers continuing support to festival filmmakers and writers through its Legacy Program, a series of initiatives encouraging alumnae to create and screen new work.

History

Broad Humor was conceived in 2005 by filmmaker Susan diRende in response to the absence of women from a series of prominent forums for film industry recognition from awards such as the

Oscars The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence i ...

to film festivals such as the Los Angeles Film Festival, and in response to the low rate of employment of women directors in film and television. The festival came into being as a grass-roots effort and was named one of five top niche film festivals by

MovieMaker Magazine ''MovieMaker'' is a magazine, website and podcast network focused on the art and business of filmmaking with a special emphasis on independent film and film festivals. The magazine is published on a quarterly basis, and is known for the annual l ...

in its first year. The festival showcases work in which all the generative artists are female. Writing and directing must be done exclusively by women. Submissions for the festival come primarily from the United States and Canada, though submissions have been received from Europe, Asia and Australia as well. The festival has been invited twice to Italy, screening a Broads Abroad program in Rome in 2007 Where Magazine, January 2007, Roma and again in 2008 to the launch of the Tuscany Tourism Office programs for women, ''Benvenute in Toscana''. In 2014
Michelle Clay
stepped into the position of Executive Director and senior programming for the festival. Founder Susan diRende remains active in growing the Broad Humor brand and continues to be a contributor to programming. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Broad Humor Film Festival was cancelled for 2020.

References

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External links

Broad Humor website

Articles

Broad Humor Festival Has Successful Weekend in Venice
Santa Monica Mirror, July 2006
Broad Humor Abroad - The Broad Humor Film Festival in Rome
LA Splash, February 2007
The Broad Humor Film Festival Review - Female and Funny
LA Splash, August, 2007
Women Rule at 'Broad' Comedy Fest
Backstage, August 2007
Malibu Women Shine at Broad Humor Film Festival
Malibu Times, June 2008
Never Odd or Even Reviewed by FimSnobbery.com
FilmSnobbery.com, December 2009 Film festivals in Los Angeles Women's film festivals in the United States Film festivals established in 2005 Comedy film festivals History of women in California