Raine Shank

POWGirls Alumni: Raine Shank

I am so grateful for the opportunities POWGirls has presented me and many other young female and non-binary filmmakers within the past few years. The existence of it as an organization at all is truly impressive and unfortunately rare so I am thrilled I have been able to be apart of it. 
    Before POWGirls I had never even been given the chance to take a film class so my knowledge was minimal. But POW sent me straight into production within one day! I was so thrilled to have learned key elements of film and then be able to turn around and use them directly. The POW workshops I attended in high school were the only times I was really taught and encouraged to make films. They are what allowed me to really discover my passion and what I ultimately wanted to do. 

 Now I attend the University of Oregon and I am double majoring in Journalism and Cinema Studies hoping to pursue filmmaking in the future. Having POW girls on my resume I have been able to say I have experience on set and I knew how to set up a light kit or hold a boom mic. Among the many opportunities that experience has given me, most notably it allowed me the rare opportunity to make a short film and a TV show for UO’s School of Journalism network, DuckTV. Usually freshmen are not selected as producers but because of my experience in film from POW girls they took a chance on me and my other freshmen friend! The experience in POW being geared toward young girls and non-binary youth is an incredibly valuable experience. As I pursue film I learn more and more about who typically dominates the industry. I also learn more and more about the value of people who differ from that type of person. Learning about being a woman in film in a room full of older men is not nearly as inspiring as being in a room full of other underrepresented young people. I am so appreciative of what the POW workshops, instructors and other participants have taught me about film and the world! ​