Variety Gathers Prominent Female Creatives for Annual Pre-Oscar Forum

Entertainment outlet Variety has scheduled its next High Tea industry gathering for November 16, assembling a broad cohort of female cinematic professionals actively participating in this year's awards race.

Titled High Tea: Celebrating the Women of Awards Season, the upcoming forum builds upon an earlier spring symposium focused specifically on female directors.

Designed as a series of targeted panel discussions, the schedule brings together film directors, actors, production designers, and non-fiction storytellers to examine their current releases and ongoing influence within the screen industry.

Executive publisher Dea Lawrence is slated to launch the proceedings with opening remarks. Subsequent stage discussions, led by senior craft editor Jazz Tangcay, will highlight directors behind projects such as Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender, Tangles, and Tenzing, alongside a dedicated design panel covering wardrobe contributions to high-profile productions like Michael, The Devil Wears Prada 2, The Odyssey, and Wildwood.

Further programming includes a performance-focused panel featuring actors Ruth Madeley, Nia Long, and Marion Bailey moderated by features director Emily Longeretta, as well as a spotlight on the grassroots non-fiction project Nothing to See Here: Watts, hosted by co-editor-in-chief Cynthia Littleton alongside the film's creative leadership.

Backed by prominent film studios and distribution entities—including Paramount+, Universal Pictures, Apple Original Films, and 20th Century—the gathering seeks to highlight creative contributions across the cinematic landscape while encouraging discussion around female leadership in media.