Disruptors 2018 Interview: Alma Har'el's Free the Bid Is Creating a Diversified Space Behind the Camera

The director on her work to push for more women shooting ads

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Director Alma Har’el, one of the 39 women Adweek selected for our second annual Disruptors list, founded the non-profit Free the Bid in 2016 to push for more diversity behind the camera when it comes to directing ads. It seems to be working—Har’el explained that the number of women directors hired for commercial jobs has increased by a whopping 400 percent at agencies like BBDO and CP+B. Adweek caught up with Har’el last month via email—she’s getting her first narrative feature film underway, Honey Boy starring Shia LaBeouf and Lucas Hedges—to learn more about why she founded Free the Bid, what she’s working on now and how she’s even practicing the Free the Bid mentality in hiring for her new film.

Adweek: Tell us about founding Free the Bid.

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