Fundraising Underway for 1929 Women’s Air Derby Film

The Hemlock Films script follows the story of the 20 women who took part in the California-to-Ohio air race.

Thursday, April 04, 2024 at 09:08 AM ET

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Five out of 20 women finished the first Women's National Air Derby, flying from Santa Monica, CA to Cleveland in 1929. [Credit: National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution]

Key Takeaways:

Hemlock Films is developing a feature film about the 1929 Women's Air Derby, a historic cross-country air race featuring 20 pioneering female aviators.
The film will focus on participants like Louise Thaden (the script's central figure) and Amelia Earhart, highlighting their struggles against elements, sabotage, and chauvinism during the race.
Producer Kara White believes a narrative feature, inspired by a historical book, will tell this impactful story more effectively than a documentary.
The project is currently fundraising for an estimated $10 million budget and is actively seeking actors and period-correct aircraft for production.

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Hemlock Films, the company that brought the aviation world the films Rise Above: WASP (2019), Space Chase USA (2019), The Restorers (2003), and Red Tail Reborn (2007), is looking for help to bring the story of the 1929 Women’s Air Derby to theaters as a feature.

The story follows the 20 women who took part in the “Powder Puff Derby,” which was humorist Will Rogers’ facetious name for the California-to-Ohio air race that was the first time females were allowed to compete. The participants included aviation notables such as Louise Thaden, Florence “Pancho” Barnes, Amelia Earhart, and Bobbi Trout. The women fought the elements, deliberate sabotage, and chauvinism to pursue aviation.