Midge Sanford began a film production company with business partner Sarah Pillsbury in 1982 to form Sanford/Pillsbury Productions, a pioneering team of women producers in a male-dominated industry. The pair's first project, Desperately Seeking Susan, helped put them on the map and led to a string of films including River's Edge, Eight Men Out, And The Band Played On, and How to Make an American Quilt, among others. Sanford is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and is on the academy's foreign film committee. She served on the advisory boards of the Alliance of Women Directors as well as Project Involve, a film mentorship programme for minority filmmakers. She has been a panelist at film festivals around the world, including Sundance, Toronto, Vancouver, Rio de Janeiro, Australia and Puerto Rico. Sanford will speak about making independent films at this year's Big Screen Symposium at Auckland University's Business School September 30 - October 1.