AAFCA To Celebrate Women In Cinema With Events Honoring Stephanie Allain, Madeline Di Nonno

With March being Women’s History Month, the African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) will celebrate women in cinema with events in Los Angeles and Atlanta on March 23, honoring veteran producer Stephanie Allain and Madeline Di Nonno, an exec with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. The events are free and open to the public.

“Both Madeline and Stephanie epitomize the resiliency and excellence women have long demonstrated within the industry,” AAFCA President Gil Robertson said in a statement. “AAFCA is honored to be able to share their genius on the same day in two different cities and show young people in particular, women especially, that their future in Hollywood is especially bright.”

The Los Angeles event, presented in conjunction with the American Cinematheque, will feature Allain discussing her journey in Hollywood, why she entered the industry, working in the studio system, and her career as a producer on such films as Hustle & Flow and Dear White People. She will also offer insight into her time as an executive, which included greenlighting Boyz n the Hood.

The event will include a special screening of Allain’s upcoming Netflix film, Juanita starring Alfre Woodard as an inner-city mom who moves to Montana in search of a better life. The program will start at 3 p.m. at the Egyptian Theatre Hollywood.

Meanwhile in Atlanta, AAFCA will honor Di Nonno, who is chief executive officer of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. The event will take place at the Auburn Avenue Research Library during a day of programming celebrating and exploring the female presence in media from 1 to 4 p.m.

Di Nonno oversees the Institute’s strategic direction, research, advocacy work and more. She has an extensive media and Hollywood background and has worked in key capacities taking charge of digital content platforms, overseeing global brand marketing, branded franchise development and more for home entertainment and limited theatrical releases. She will discuss the value of women in cinema and the importance of the female image.

The institute was founded in 2004 by Oscar-winning actress Geena Davis to work “within the media and entertainment industry to engage, educate, and influence content creators, marketers and audiences about the importance of eliminating unconscious bias.”