Film to examine impact of women who code with help of crowdfunding campaign
SAN FRANCISCO — (BUSINESS WIRE) — September 9, 2014 — Documentary filmmakers exploring the lack of female and minority software engineers today launched an Indiegogo campaign to raise funds for their upcoming film, “CODE: Debugging the Gender Gap.”
CODE is a relevant and timely feature-length documentary which attempts to explain why more American women and minorities are not pursuing careers in computer science, despite high demand and lucrative job opportunities.
“Women of all racial and socioeconomic groups should have access to computer science education because there is an enormous demand for programmers and because their influence and collaboration in the software engineering world could significantly impact technological progression,” said CODE Director and Producer Robin Hauser Reynolds. “We’re taking a deep look at the cultural and sociological factors at play, and we’re going a step farther and asking the question, ‘what would society gain from having more women code?’”
The goal of CODE is to produce a documentary film that empowers American women and minorities to pursue education and careers in computer science. CODE also explores how technology would be different if a more diverse field of programmers coded the applications and devices upon which society depends.
The CODE narrative will showcase the challenges faced by a new generation of women programmers – and the ingenious ways they are using their skills, drive, intellect and vision to disrupt the traditionally male dominated technology industry. The stories have been carefully chosen and cast to reflect the full spectrum of ages, genders and backgrounds who are challenging the status quo.
The film will also feature expert voices from many of the world’s foremost technology companies as well as experts in psychology, science, computer history and mathematics. As local San Franciscans, Director Robin Hauser Reynolds and Producer Staci Hartman have interviewed start-up entrepreneurs, C-level technology executives and leading educators. Guest experts featured in CODE will include:
- Jocelyn Goldfein, Director of Engineering, Facebook
- Adam Messinger, CTO of Twitter
- Danielle Feinberg, Director of Photography for Lighting, Pixar Animation Studios
- Tracy Chou, Software Engineer, Pinterest
- Dan Garcia, PhD., Professor, UC Berkeley
- Jane Margolis, Senior Researcher, UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies
- Kimberly Bryant, Founder, Black Girls Code
- Claude M. Steele, Dean of Graduate School of Engineering, Stanford University
- Debra Sterling, Founder, GoldieBlox
- Marc Hedlund, Vice President of Engineering, Stripe
- Maria Klawe, President, Harvey Mudd College
- Reshma Saujani, Founder and CEO, Girls Who Code
- Megan Smith, VP, Google[x]
- Lucy Sanders, CEO and Co-Founder NCWIT - National Center for Women & Information Technology
“Our story is global in nature,” said Reynolds. “The setting is anywhere this battle for equality is being waged – be it in homes, the tech sector, on the streets, or in neighborhoods where you may least expect to find it.”
With a goal to raise $75,000, the Indiegogo fundraising campaign will run through October 11, which the United Nations has declared the International Day of the Girl Child. The campaign aligns with key industry conferences including TechCrunch Disrupt, Women 2.0HowTo Conference and the Grace Hopper Celebration.
CODE is currently in full production and a finished cut will be submitted to Film Festivals this fall. A promotional teaser trailer for the film is available for preview at codedocumentary.com.
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