We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Femme Future Perfect. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with FEMME FUTURE PERFECT below.

FEMME FUTURE PERFECT, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What were some of the most unexpected problems you’ve faced in your career and how did you resolve those issues?

Starting out in Hollywood over the past 5 years, there was so much talk of gender inclusivity that it came as something of a surprise that genre — specifically horror, action, and sci-fi — is still seen as a largely male space. As female/non-binary screenwriters, we came up against an industry that wanted us to give them rom-coms or low-budget women-in-peril thrillers for streaming. None of us are interested in that route. We love watching genre stories, so we want a chance to tell them!
As an example of the misogyny we’ve faced, a male horror executive told Jaime to take the word ‘feminist’ out of her bio because it would alienate their audience. That immediately said his company focuses on appealing to men, but it also assumes men will automatically be anti-feminist. The executive went on to say they track audience data, and the majority of women historically go to horror movies with a male companion. Then he joked ‘so they can pretend to be scared and hold the guy’s hand!’
And this was a company that said they were looking for BIPOC female-led horror features. How do you respond to something like that in a professional meeting? The next film they made, by the way, did have a BIPOC female lead — and was written, directed, and produced solely by white men.
This attitude from the decision makers tells you why we have so few female and non-binary filmmakers in the genre space. It was an issue none of us were expecting, but none of us were surprised by. That’s how we came about our mission to create genre spaces for femme voices to be heard.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

In this moment when the voices of women are more important than ever, our fiction podcast series, FEMME FUTURE PERFECT, explores a trippy, twisted, feminist take on sci-fi and horror.
We are female genre screenwriters who repeatedly found ourselves on the wrong side of the patriarchal walls put up around genre filmmaking. We all faced similar challenges in advancing our work in an industry that rarely lets us tell our own stories — so we decided to do just that. We created, produced, and launched our own podcast series instead of waiting for someone to give us permission. Our stories range from deeply personal to zany fun, with an underlying message about issues important to us. Femme Future Perfect delves into topics like body autonomy, depression, and environmentalism, all seen through a femme-lens.
As individuals, we are all screenwriters. Jaime’s brand is provocative genre with a dark comedy underbelly. Lauren writes witty but thematically deep genre stories about kickass women outsmarting the systems bent on keeping them down. Goldie’s gritty genre stories center on characters across the gender spectrum reclaiming their power to define themselves, their lives, and the worlds they live in.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

In a film/TV landscape run by corporations, decisions are data-driven, not artistic. Here are some things you can do to make sure we have a more diverse array of entertainment available:
1. Don’t put off watching that cool indie movie you heard about. Going to see it on opening weekend could mean the next indie darling gets greenlit.
2. If there’s a TV show you’re excited about on a streaming service, watch at least three episodes in its first week of release. This can help get it renewed.
3. Go see, rent, or subscribe to content made by women, non-binary, and BIPOC creators. When audiences pay to hear these stories, the algorithm says they’re profitable, and more get made!

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Our podcast has been fulfilling because we’ve gotten to say what we want without a filter. Expressing that is personally rewarding, but it’s not why we tell stories. Creating Femme Future Perfect has given us a platform to share our female screams, cries, and laughter with anyone out there who needs to know they aren’t alone in what they’re feeling. That’s why we do what we do: to connect in this fractured world.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://femmefutureperfect.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/femmefutureperfect/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaime-kawamoto123/
• Other: Listen to us on:

  https://open.spotify.com/show/3G1aPa0WONLbvgwAOg5GPe
  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/femme-future-perfect-podcast/id1791620775

  Join us:
  https://www.patreon.com/FemmeFuturePerfectPodcast