The Rise of Women DP's: Discussing Set Culture, Protecting their Bodies, Asking for Help, and Praising "Trust that Never Required Earning".
- julissascopino
- Sep 6, 2025
- 6 min read
Updated: Dec 2, 2025
We kick off our 4th FiB conversation with pure, honest, real talk from women shaping cinematography across the globe from India, China, and the Philippines to the United States. With varied backgrounds such as law, social work, photography, and architecture.
In this roundtable, we are joined by Vaishali Sahu, Luisa Madrid, Selene Almeron, Zoey Hu, and Dani Payne each charting her path in a male-dominated craft.
For many women behind the camera, set life becomes a test of physical resilience and emotional stamina. As Luisa shared, “a lot of lifting technique is based on a male’s body,” forcing women to learn how to protect themselves in environments not built with their bodies in mind. Dani echoed this, describing the pressure to appear invulnerable: “you feel like we have to know exactly what's going on… and there's no space for being creatively a little lost.” Yet the culture is shifting, led by women who are redefining strength: asking for help, training to stay physically strong, and prioritizing safety over ego. Vai spoke to this evolution: “A woman will try to take it as quietly as possible… but it comes down to proper technique and knowing your limits.”
“Back in India, I used to work in the film industry and the ratio of men to women was very different than what it is here." Vaishali Sahu
Perhaps the most defining new pillar of set culture for women DPs is TRUST, not earned through proving capability, but given as a baseline. As Celine and Vai put it, there is a “trust that never required earning,” a female collaborative energy where creativity can breathe. It’s all about community, honesty, and the right to take up space.
“I was a law student before this, so I totally understand how difficult it is for women to have their career among a bunch of men… but here I feel very supported by all the women on set.” Zoey Hu
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Topics Discussed
Supportive set-environment versus non-supportive sets
Feeling pressure to always know the answer
Female-led sets and the beauty of “trust without earning it”
Comparison to working with men
Family planning effects both women and men
Speculation on humanoid robots on set
Allowing space for uncertainty and problem-solving
For Celine, the culture on set extends far beyond the physical demands of the job. What matters most, she explains, is the environment and the people in it. Feeling genuinely comfortable with her team is essential. That comfort creates a foundation of trust where asking for help isn’t seen as weakness but as part of the collaborative process. When everyone knows and respects each other’s limits, the set becomes energized. “It’s a boost in morale, a boost in energy,” she reflects. The workload feels lighter because the support system is strong.
“Working with women and queer directors feels completely different. I call it GIRLHOOD. It's that collective experience, that shared understanding. We create images from what we feel, and it becomes such a powerful way to build a vision together.” Selene Almeron
When conversations about family planning come up in filmmaking, the burden is almost always imagined as a woman’s to carry, the fear of pausing momentum, losing opportunities, or being seen as “unable” to keep up. But Luisa shared a nuance that isn’t often discussed: men feel their own quiet anxiety, too. Many worry they won’t be home enough, that the long hours and constant production cycles might distance them from the very families they’re building. “It’s not just women that experience this,” she was told. “Men also fear missing their child’s life.”
“We never know what someone is carrying whether it be pregnancy, a disability, grief, or stress. The more attuned we are to each other’s quiet battles, the stronger we become as a creative team. ” Luisa Madrid
At one point, Julissa raised a question she has been contemplating: what happens when humanoid robots enter the film set? She acknowledged it may not be tomorrow, but the shift is coming. The women listened, absorbing the possibility with a blend of curiosity and caution. While everyone agreed technology will continue shaping production, the sentiment remained firm: filmmaking is fundamentally human, emotional, and intuitive.
“I don’t trust technology. Film is so precious and fragile, one glitch and an entire project can disappear. That thought genuinely stresses me out.” Dani Payne
Vaishali Sahu is a cinematographer from India, currently pursuing an MFA in Cinematography at the Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema in New York. She began her creative journey studying architecture and working in the Indian film industry, where she gradually discovered a deep interest in visual storytelling. Eager to explore this path more seriously and grow her skills, she moved to New York to pursue formal training. At Feirstein, she has been a part of several student film productions and continues to learn through collaboration and hands-on experience. Driven by curiosity, her journey has been one of steady growth, and she looks forward to building a meaningful and lasting career in the field.
Luisa F. Madrid is a Peruvian/Colombian-American cinematographer known for her emotionally rich visual storytelling and collaborative approach on set.
Her work on King of Games earned her Best Cinematography at the Chelsea Film Festival, following a nomination for the Enderby Entertainment Filmmaking Fellowship at the Austin Film Festival. Other standout projects include All the Gaps (PAFF, ASPIRETV) and Care Center: Promotores (WIFF). A 2025 ZEISS & Women In Media Altitude Award recipient, Luisa has been selected for the Warner Bros. Discovery x Food Network Behind the Lens Program, is a two-time Made in NY grant winner, and a NYWIFT Awardhonoree.
She holds an MFA in Cinematography from Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema and is an alum of the prestigious Eddie Adams Workshop. Luisa is committed to telling underrepresented stories with depth and authenticity across narrative, documentary, and commercial formats.
Visit Luisa's website here.
Child to Trinidadian immigrants.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY.
Queer. Black.
Dani Payne is a cinematographer and filmmaker based in Brooklyn, NYC. She began her journey in the arts as a photographer where she explores topics of body image, expressions of race and femininity through film portraiture.
Within motion picture, she focuses her creative work on “slice of life” and coming of age narratives. Her work has been featured at the National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY), Santa Fe Independent Film Festival and the Utah Queer Film Festival. She graduated from Claremont Mckenna College with a BA in Media & Film Studies.
Selene Almeron is a cinematographer and colorist based in Brooklyn and Metro Manila. Her passion for photography and cameras began at a young age when her older sister taught her how to use a DSLR camera. This early fascination evolved into a deep interest in cinema, leading her to explore filmmaking in college, where she honed her skills behind the camera and in post-production. She was invited to the 2018 MOWELFUND Advanced Cinematography Masterclass in Manila and later participated in the 2019 Summer Filmmaking Program at FAMU Prague.
In 2018, Selene shot her undergraduate thesis film, Balai (Home), which won the Grand Jury Prize at the prestigious 67th FAMAS Awards. The film was an Official Selection at the 2019 Melbourne Short Film Festival, the 2020 Nepal International Film Festival, and the 2021 Gawad Alternatibo Film Festival.
Since then, she has worked as a cinematographer and colorist on films such as System Disrupted (2025), Ni Aquí, Ni Allá (2025), Everything There Is to Know About Me (2024), and Grand Gestures (2020). She gravitates toward stories exploring queerness, grief, spirituality, and complex family and friendship dynamics. Passionate about the collaborative process from pre-production to post, she is dedicated to bringing a film’s vision to life.
Selene finished her MFA in Cinematography at the Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema at Brooklyn College in May 2025. She works as a freelance cinematographer, colorist, 1st AC, cam op, and DIT across film, television, and advertising.
Visit Selene's website https://selenealmeron.com/
Dear Creatives,
There is something undeniably different about the female energy on set. It shifts the air, the rhythm, the way the work feels. It becomes almost meditative, like a calm you step into, and the creativity that comes out of that space feels intimate.
— Julissa Scopino, on behalf of Filmmakers In Boardrooms