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photo courtesy of EroÏn
Audrey Clinet, filmmaker, Eroïn
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photo courtesy of EroÏn
Audrey Clinet, filmmaker, Eroïn
When Audrey Clinet wanted to open the American chapter of her female-focused film production company, she contemplated the obvious choices of New York and Los Angeles. But in each city, she found herself being drowned out by the cacophony of production companies.
At the suggestion of her friend and business partner Laura Fierer, Clinet turned her attention to Fort Worth, the place her company has called home since its founding in 2018.
“There’s a place for me here,” Clinet said.
Clinet realized Fort Worth is a burgeoning city ideal for any business hoping to grow.
“I think when you’re a business owner, it’s very interesting to be surrounded by that energy,” she said. “I expect that the company will grow because of that dynamic.”
Fierer –– film producer and co-founder of the American chapter –– originally thought she’d be in Fort Worth for just three years. Three turned to six, and now, she’s never leaving. She believes the glut of production companies in Los Angeles and New York made it difficult to thrive.
“Everybody has a project. You go to a bar, and the waitress is gonna have two scripts that she’s working on or an audition that she went to in the morning and one that she’s got in the afternoon. Everybody’s in the industry,” she said. “It’s hard to have a message and have a voice. I really thought we could do something good here.”
Clinet, concerned by the lack of representation of female filmmakers, began an annual film screening of female-helmed films in Paris in 2012. Eroïn would grow from this screening to support and empower women in the film industry.
“The number of female directors produced in the industry is very low,” Clinet said. “I really want to help them. I really want to give them a voice, and I really want to give them a company that can support them. That’s been my focus.”
According to the website womenandhollywood.com, of the top-grossing 100 films of 2018, only about 4 percent of the 112 directors were women.
Fierer wants their company to help “level the playing field” for women in the industry.
This vision informs Eroïn’s mission, not simply the bottom line.
“Some agents will see a film and see the potential of how they can make money with the film,” Clinet said. “I work more with my feelings. I don’t know if that’s good for business, but when I love the film, I love the film. I really want to help the filmmaker get their film everywhere.”
After three years, Clinet turned her annual screening into Eroïn, a three-pronged company handling distribution, production, and management for female filmmakers. Eroïn currently works with filmmakers around the world, connecting the directors to the industry, producing, and distributing their projects.
Distribution is all about reaching buyers. Clinet is in constant contact with buyers for television stations, schools, universities, and theaters from every part of the world to sell the films.
“It’s mailing and mailing and mailing and mailing,” she said. “Twenty-four hours, seven days, no vacations, no weekends, no nights. I think about it all the time.”
That means Clinet is always on the hunt for emerging talent. She splits her time between New York, Los Angeles, Fort Worth, and France, attending a film festival every two months.
Production is finding the best script and trusting the creativity, talent, and vision of the filmmaker and being able to see the film before it’s even complete. First comes financing, then organizing the writing and shooting of the project, and finding a way to get the film in front of an audience.
“It’s finding investments, finding people who can trust your ideas who want to follow the film and can see the film as a product,” Audrey said.
Management –– the latest addition to the company –– is all about making connections.
“It’s connecting people with the filmmaker and making the filmmaker known,” Clinet said. “It’s more about connecting the filmmaker to the industry.”
To accomplish this, Eroïn needs money. The name of the game is now finding investors to grow the company.
“It’s such a huge project, and without money, we can’t grow further,” Clinet said. “Putting money on a film company is risky for any investor because it’s an activity that, unfortunately, is not very sure. Investors prefer to put money on something that they are sure will work.”
Clinet hopes to find people passionate about Eroïn itself, who will also mentor them in the growth of the company.
“The thing my project has needed for years is a godfather or godmother,” she said. “Someone who likes the project and likes the value of my company, being able to help push the project further.”