THE MISSFITS (Winner - Special Jury Award for Filmmaker to Watch)

An all-girls robotics team based in San Francisco is taking on the male-dominated field of engineering. They are determined to show other girls how fun and rewarding STEM can be, one robot at a time. The documentary follows The Missfits as they confront growing pains, build their robot, and travel to competitions. The diverse team is made up of twenty girls from high schools around the Bay Area ranging in age from fifteen to eighteen and coming from a variety of backgrounds. On their own, they are outsiders, misfits. But together, on the team, they build each other up and learn to embrace their own identities.

Director's Bio:

Ellie Wen is an award-winning filmmaker from Hong Kong and Los Angeles. She began her career in Los Angeles where she produced numerous short films and narrative features. She has worked at CAA, CBS Films, and Super Deluxe in all aspects of Film and TV. Ellie is an alumna of Film Independent's Project Involve fellowship program and recently completed her MFA in Documentary Film at Stanford University. Her films have been featured on The Guardian, The New York Times, Short of the Week, SoulPancake, Starz, Vimeo Staff Pick, and screened at premier festivals around the world. She now lives in San Francisco and is developing her next documentary as a fellow in the SFFILM FilmHouse Residency Program.