Tampa Film Fan

local documentary ten at the top in tampa bay is top-notch

After months of anticipation, I finally had a chance to see the local documentary Ten at the Top in Tampa Bay last night.  It was worth the wait.  Tampa native Renee Warmack noticed that the Tampa Bay area has ten women currently heading governmental institutions:

• Pat Bean, County Administrator, Hillsborough County
• MaryEllen Elia, Superintendent, School District of Hillsborough County
• Pat Frank, Clerk of the Circuit Court, 13th Judicial Circuit
• Nancy Fryrear, Postmaster, Tampa — United States Postal Service
• Julianne Holt, Public Defender, 13th Judicial Circuit
• Pam Iorio, Mayor, City of Tampa
• Dr. Luanne Panacek, Chief Executive Officer, Children’s Board of Hillsborough County
• Dr. Gwendolyn Stephenson, President, Hillsborough Community College
• Dr. Judy Genshaft, President, University of South Florida
• Colonel Margaret Woodward, Commander, MacDill Air Force Base

Warmack did more than merely notice; she decided to become a documentary filmmaker, to interview these remarkable women, to embody the spirit of the Ophelia Project, to encourage children to dream big and to inspire everyone, especially women.  Warmack was able to interview eight of the ten women (Dr. Genshaft and Col. Woodward weren’t available) and get them to open up about their education, childhoods, dreams, goals, challenges and mentors.   Dr. Stephenson spoke about her original goal of becoming a doctor, the career challenges she has faced as an African-American woman and the advice her mother gave her (”read everything”).  Ms. Frank quoted her father’s advice (”go to college, take care of your teeth and buy expensive shoes”) and talked about the hideous bow-tie fashions that career women adopted in the 80s to try to fit into the male suit-and-tie world.  All of the women shared funny, touching, poignant stories from their own lives.

I found Ten at the Top in Tampa Bay not only inspirational, but honest.  The interviewees were very open in discussing the ups and downs of their careers: the prejudice and sexism, and the mentoring, encouragement and support. I was glad to see the women identified almost every time they were on screen, which kept the viewer from getting confused about who was speaking.  Also, I enjoyed the photos of the women as children, teenagers and young women at the beginning of their careers.  However, I wish that Warmack had mentioned Dr. Genshaft and Col. Woodward more than just the one time at the very beginning of the film.  Very brief bios and a mention that those two were unavailable for interviews would have filled in the very small gap (for me, anyway) of featuring only eight women in a film called Ten at the Top in Tampa Bay.

Before filming, Warmack made a commitment not to sell DVDs of her film.  She said last night that she plans to honor this promise, but is sharing her film with schools and other organizations since her motto is “go forth and mentor.”  I hope others discover this remarkable and inspirational mentoring tool that Warmack has given the Bay area.

Visit www.tenatthetop.com for more info or to view a trailer of this film.  Ten and the Top in Tampa Bay will make its broadcast premiere at 4 p.m. on March 25 on WEDU.  The film will also screen at the Ybor Festival of the Moving Image on April 22.

(cross-posted at www.sticksoffire.com)