Wendy Ettinger

Wendy Ettinger is an award-winning film producer whose first foray in the documentary world was The War Room (1993), which was nominated for an Academy Award. Her career in the arts began as a casting director for theater and film. In 2005, Wendy co-founded Chicken & Egg Pictures with the spectacular Julie Parker Benello and Judith Helfand to provide mentoring and funding for women filmmakers whose artful, innovative storytelling could catalyze social change. In 2013, Wendy co-founded Gamechanger Films to address gender and equity disparity in narrative filmmaking; it was the first fund dedicated to financing feature films directed by women. Both entities have since broadened their support to include gender expansive filmmakers. Gamechanger financed films screened at Sundance, SXSW, and Tribeca; and received Emmy and Spirit awards. Films include The Tale, Passing, and The Inspection. Most recently, Wendy executive produced The Tuba Thieves, which premiered at Sundance 2023.

Among her many honors, Wendy was featured in Variety’s 2015 “Power of Women New York Impact” issue. She is a recipient of the PVBLIC Social Impact Leadership Council Award, and a recipient of the Re-Gender Award. She serves on the Capacity Council of Brown Girls Doc Mafia (BGDM), the advisory boards of Sandbox Films and Film Fatales, JBFC and the boards of Media Arts Exploration (MAX) and the Imagine Science Film Festival. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Wendy Ettinger, together with Chicken & Egg Co-Founders, Julie Parker Benello and Judith Helfand, and CEO Jenni Wolfson, were awarded the 2024 Women's Media Center Pat Mitchell Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2024 Women's Media Awards.