On July 14, 2021, WIFSFBA launched a virtual social event program exclusively for members. As an organization that aims to empower, promote and celebrate women’s creative work, we wanted to find creative ways to offer opportunities for members and build a stronger community for women working within the film, television, and digital media industries.

For the past 18 months COVID made it difficult to meet in person, so we all relied on Zoom for meetings at work, our children’s school, and connecting to friends and family. Before we knew it, the dreaded ‘Zoom fatigue’ set in, so we looked for innovative creative ways for members to be able to share knowledge, and/or form human connections. That’s when member Emily Eshraghi introduced us to Wonder.me, an alternative to Zoom, where she said WIFSFBA members could connect to others in a more spontaneous way, socialize freely in an environment where “you feel like you are at an in-person party... energized and able to mingle and move from group to group...and easily meet potential collaborators.”

And, the virtual background was changeable -- we could travel from city to city to meet each other, be in nature, or even float through space as we socialized! To chill and relax, we chose a white sand beach with palm trees which made us all feel like we were on vacation!

Looking back, we know this was a very special event...

"The Virtual Summer Social was for members to meet other members, share stories and resources. Hopefully, some great connections were made that may one day evolve into partnerships or collaborations on creative work. The whole mission of Women In Film San Francisco Bay Area is to nurture this amazing group.”
--Tasha Nesbitt, President of the Board

And it seems like our SUMMER VIRTUAL SOCIAL did just that:

“Met new people and was referred to potential collaborators for a short film I'm planning.”
--Emily Eshragi, Moderator

"You never know who you are going to meet. I was so surprised to reconnect with my mentor from the Squaw Valley Community of Writers retreat from ten years ago. I also met another filmmaker with a project related to mine and had a good conversation. Who would have thought?"

--Carol Lee Hall, Board Member

“Wonder felt like a little vacation from Zoom. I like their visuals and really enjoyed being able to pop over to different rooms that look like little motos on a Tahitian island. I still was able to connect with members and felt a real connection and camaraderie to Women in Film SF BA. It’s good to continue to learn new software and see what else is available besides a zoom meeting. It was really great to be able to share my film project and learn about other people’s projects. The way the world is right now it felt great to be able to talk about film with other filmmakers in the comfort of my home and in a safe environment.”

--Julie Rubio, Board Member

“I'm really glad I went to the WIFSFBA mixer last month mostly because it was nice to meet other women in film ‘in person’ for the first time. I was very interested to hear what kinds of projects everyone was working on, and as an aspiring writer/filmmaker, I even got a recommendation for a weekly free writing series online I didn't know about. I look forward to meeting up again, and hope to help out on set or otherwise to keep learning from all these amazing women filmmakers.”
--Nil Unerdem Riedmiller, WIFSFBA Member