Just like the ass kicking Chainsaw Sally we are all starting to get on our bloody best for the third annual Women in Horror Month (WiHM) celebration this February!
In case you didn’t know I am the founder and Director of Operations for Women in Horror Month. WiHM is now a service offered under the umbrella of The Viscera Film Festival: a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Teaming up with an organization working toward the same goal only makes sense and we are asking for all of you to team up with us as well.
Each year WiHM has a very different personality. We want to put a very big emphasis this year on women working together and not trying to tear each other down due to jealousy or personal drama. Let’s show the world that incredible things can happen when a large group of artists and film fanatics join forces for the good of our beloved genre and helping each our network to obtain our professional goals.
In our culture girls and women are trained to fight with each other because everyone knows if we actually dropped all the petty crap we would be unstoppable. WiHM aims to promote and help facilitate opportunities for women in front of/ behind the camera, and women in all facets of the horror industry and horror fandom.
Creativity is very important and a major piece of our mission encourages YOU to make art/utilize your talents to promote the work of women, while empowering yourself and those around you. Let’s find a common ground and keep getting strong in our mission to carve out space for ourselves. There is room for everyone and the only way we will be successful is working together. Cheesy as that may sound, obvious as that may be, it’s not as easy as it sounds and it’s totally crucial.
This year we want to really draw attention to the fact that men are very much encouraged to be part of this movement. Nothing will change unless everyone is involved! After all, we are horror fans and want to see some really quality films- by creating more opportunities for women in the industry we are simultaneously opening opportunities for women in all facets of the arts and all people as a whole. It’s not a quick easy process but as we enter into our third year it’s impressive how much we have mobilized and how much art and events have been born. We still have much work to do (work we love!). It’s not time to simmer down!! It’s not to late to create an event, plan a blog, host a special podcast, write to media outlets about why Women in Horror recognition is so important. Use your brilliant imagination and let us help you in anyway we can. WiHM provides support to anyone who wants to start an event and needs some networking help. But, check it, we finally have our own Forums and though it looks empty now we want you to really use it to it’s full potential. Network, self promote, find people in your area, etc. You know the drill.
Official WiHM 2012 Seal (Created by Miki Hickel)
One of the other brand new additions this year is our official WiHM SEAL. The Official Seal is available to events and blog series’ which take place during February as part of the WiHM celebrations. It’s super easy to get an official Seal. All you need to do is fill out our Request form. The Board of Directors will review it and make sure it’s in line with the WiHM mission, and then send you your Seal. If you hold film festival we can send you a giant version of the Seal to play on the big screen before your event and/or for your promotion materials or as a side image on your official WiHM blog series’! You will also be added to our Official event Calendar on our “Events” page. You will receive loads of help from our organization to help make your event a success in anyway we can. See the Request a Seal Form for more details!
