“Maestra” follows several conductors as they face a grueling competition, with interviews in the United States, France, Poland and Greece. Contreras said it was difficult to find women workers in some of those places. Due to tight schedules and budgets, there was pressure to fill the work with men. She adhered to her own quota.
Contreras credits the project’s success to a female-led crew. Her subjects open up and tell stories about child abuse, discrimination, and body insecurity. “My own experiences of my thoughts, my fears, my struggles, my joys, and how I present myself in the world, as a human being and as a woman, have allowed us to have a conversation,” she said. .
That perspective, she said, is in line with other claims to give women more opportunities. Diverse directors open up possibilities for storytelling, which is at the heart of filmmaking.
Her next directing project will focus on the triumphant “Erin Brockovich” type, albeit in a different context than classical music. She plans to maintain the same philosophy when assembling her inclusive production staff.
“Now it’s my responsibility to hire people who will hire other people,” she said. “You can’t break that chain, or you’ll fall back.”
Smith, whose academic research has made her a leading proponent of equity in the film business, said the chain has impacted audience experiences and the careers of women filmmakers.
“If you have a female director, you’re more likely to do a whole series,” she said. She said, “There will be more female-led storylines, more women over 40 in movies, more women working behind the camera, and more women on lower staff.”
