Leaning Into the Lens

Leaning Into the Lens is a short documentary that seeks to unpack the presence of the celluloid ceiling in film school education. Through interviews with film industry professionals, film school graduates, and EDI pedagogy experts, the filmmakers challenge audiences and educators to find more inclusive ways to support female-identifying students in film school.

  • Kathleen Cummins
    Director
    Lost Things, Emer Banished to the Waves of the Sea, Seduction of Mary Day
  • Maureen McKeon
    Director
    Traders, Side Effects
  • Kathleen Cummins
    Writer
  • Maureen McKeon
    Writer
  • Kathleen Cummins
    Producer
  • Maureen McKeon
    Producer
  • Maya Bankovich
    Key Cast
    "Interview Subject"
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Runtime:
    25 minutes 47 seconds
  • Production Budget:
    8,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Kathleen Cummins, Maureen McKeon

Kathleen Cummins holds a BA in Film Studies, an MFA in Film Production, and a Ph.D. in Gender and Women’s Studies.
Kathleen's most recent publication is the monograph, Herstories on Screen: Feminist Subversions of Frontier Myths (Columbia University Press, 2020). Kathleen’s short dramatic films have received funding from the Ontario Arts Council, the National Film Board of Canada, and the CBC. Her films have screened at major film festivals and been broadcast across Canada (CBC, TVO), as well as internationally (Finland, Hallmark Channel). Kathleen’s screenplays have received financial support from Telefilm-Canada and the Harold Greenberg Screenwriting Fund. Kathleen currently teaches in the Bachelor of Film and TV at Sheridan College.

Maureen McKeon has worked for all the major Canadian networks as a writer, story editor, and producer, on such Gemini-award-winning series as Traders, Bliss, and The Associates. Maureen has also taught Screenwriting at the Banff Centre, the University of Toronto, and Western University’s Continuing Studies Department. Her students’ films have won multiple “Best Student Film” Golden Sheaf awards and have screened in hundreds of festivals. She also participated as a tutor at the “Engage” conference in Edinburgh in 2011. She led a session on idea development at the National Association of Writers in Education conference in York, England, in 2012.

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