A COLLECTIVE OF WOMEN FILMMAKERS COMMITTED TO ADVANCING THE CAREERS OF EMERGING WOMEN AND NON-BINARY DIRECTORS IN TV AND FILM THROUGH MENTORSHIP.
MENTEE SUCCESS STORIES
Asia Youngman
Mentee, Black Mirror
Director, Delta Dawn
“Shadowing Ally Pankiw on her Season 7 episode of Black Mirror was the most career-defining mentorship I’ve experienced as a director. From witnessing her passion, sharp instincts, and fierce leadership to being entrusted as the second-unit director on her episode, I left feeling inspired, supported, and elevated.
This mentorship gave me both the credentials and the confidence that I am ready to take on television at this scale. Experiences like this are rare, but they shouldn’t be. It takes changemakers like Ally who recognize potential, create space, and actively lift others up. I look forward to seeing her mentorship initiative continue to flourish and open doors for more female directors like myself to break into the industry.”
Fawzia Mirza
Mentee, I Used to Be Funny
Director, The Queen of My Dreams
“I shadowed Ally Pankiw before I made my first feature, before I knew the stamina and strength it took to make a movie. I remember watching her every day, her drive to seek the best in every scene, every moment, no matter how hard it was or how exhausted she was. I asked her, ‘How do you do this every single day?’ And she replied, ‘You just do. You have to.’ I hold onto that now, knowing that it is my job to lead, to bring the energy, to ‘do’ every single day without excuse and to lead by example.”
ABOUT ALLY
Ally Pankiw is a writer/director, who works in TV, film, and branded. Ally’s accomplishments in TV include directing the full first season of the Netflix comedy series, Feel Good, (which stars Mae Martin and Lisa Kudrow, and has a 100% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes), a block on the second season of Hulu’s Shrill, and a block of episodes on the second season of Hulu’s Emmy-winning, The Great.
Previously, Ally served as a story editor on Schitt’s Creek, and has now created an original animated comedy series with its star and creator, Dan Levy, for Hulu and 20th Century Animation. The show is called Standing By and stars Levy, Glenn Close, David Tennant, Samira Wiley, Poppy Liu, and Natalie Palamides.
Ally recently wrote and directed her first feature called I Used To Be Funny in Canada with Telefilm, WME Independent, and Barn 12 Inc. The dark dramedy stars Rachel Sennott (Shiva Baby, Bodies Bodies Bodies), Olga Petsa (Mixtape), and Jason Jones and will premiere at SXSW 2023. In 2018, Ally was selected as one of Film Independent's Directing Lab fellows for her feature film, The Hiding House, and in 2015, her Bravo-funded short film, Stake, played a variety of international festivals. She is also the 2016 recipient of another BravoFACT grant, in conjunction with the Harold Greenberg Fund and Inside Out Short to Feature Award, for her film, The Inherent Traits of Connor James.
Ally got her start as part of a directing collective, with whom she directed and produced music videos for artists like Ariana Grande, Iggy Azalea, Janelle Monae, The Arkells, The Vamps, and Lil Jon. Since then, she has been conquering the commercial space — working with top brands like Pepsi, Amazon, Adidas, Nylon, Differin, WestJet, Maltesers and Chanel, and artists like MUNA and Phoebe Bridgers.
Ally and mentee Fawzia Mirza at the premiere of The Queen of My Dreams
Ally and mentee Asia Youngman on the set of Black Mirror
