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Thursday, September 22, 2022
Indie Female Directors Were Failed by the Film Festival Circuit
nofilmschool.com: The indie filmmaking world has been male-dominated and continues to be so. Female filmmakers have been able to make a few improvements to the indie landscape by stepping in front and behind the camera.
6 comments:
CrimsonCreeks
said...
While I have researched the lack of opportunities for female directors, it still boggles my mind how little changed there is every year. According to the article, the change even till recently is around 1%. As someone who has done film work and been in those spaces, it is also a grim reminder to how much of a “boy’s club” that experience has been. This is made ever so present by the vitriol that is spouted whenever a franchise gender bends femme. Like the all-female ghostbusters’ trailer, and the cries from filmbros around the globe about how “men are being oppressed”. This failing trickles upward though. While a random lad’s bad take on twitter is minimal in the grand scheme of things, the ideology he spouts oils the machine of the grander issue of misogyny. Misogyny a lot of “higher ups” perpetuate because that is what they are exposed to in the rabbit hole of filmbro culture. I also do believe that men, especially white men, are so used to being represented in media, that when they are not. They feel personally violated. This being the case with the release of Turning Red. One of the most common critiques of the film was that it “was not relatable”. Even though this is a statement not brought up when said people rave about a culinary masterchef rat. It shows that part of the problem is egotistical ignorance. So childish yet so hard to see in yourself when the world is built around you.
This article and headline genuinely did not surprise me. This has been the way it has been for so long and I and many others would love to see this change – it’s obviously difficult. I was watching an interview which was essentially an actress roundtable (they are on youtube, actors and actresses just discuss industry things based off of their varied experience), and during this one an actress brought up that she had hardly worked with any female directors. Another actress responded that she had actually worked with many, but because she chose to seek out those jobs, and how she feels it is the responsibility of the actor to seek it out. While I do not know my opinion on that yet (I agree that there should be more women highlighted in these roles but who is the blame to really be based on... I’m not sure) I wish that these film festivals, and award shows, and streaming services etc. would highlight these women and their work. We know, and they know, that women directors are underrepresented in all of the above categories, so why aren’t they trying to balance that out? I understand that there is not just one single way or method to resolve this, but as a consumer of this type of media and art I would love to see this change as I’m sure many others would.
“A new study finds that multiple film festivals failed to highlight female directors and filmmakers” …yeah I’m not surprised. All statistics used to back this article made it even more disheartening to read. The one fact that was shining through and made this actually readable was about the documentaries. It is not saying much, but seeing that just as many documentaries were shown for men and women saved me a little. I hope that as the industry grows it becomes more rewarding for the women in this field. Festivals always want points for diversity but when it comes to the groups in question they never show up and back them. I have been meaning to watch CODA and seeing it receive the recognition it deserved was rewarding but I cannot say the same for many other female directors out there. Really, this whole article pained me but I expected nothing less.
I'm not sure if it's worse that these directors were left out, or that the headline doesn't seem to be that unrealistic. I think it's really strange that these festivals always seem to push diversity (which is great!) but evidently they don't actually end up showing a whole representation of the industry. The numbers really drive the point of the article home. It's just so wrong that these women treated unfairly like this; I'm wondering if this is an oversight or something else. Of course, festivals want to feature the best overall films, be it directed by men or women, but as the article says, festivals have a responsibility to feature underrepresented professionals in addition to the former. It's a bit of a saving grace that representation in the documentary field is better, but I would love to know more about why it isn't like that with narrative films.
This is upsetting to see but I can’t say I’m really surprised. It’s rare to see female directors in general, so yeah it’s even rarer to see them properly recognized for it. This article mentions that we have to have the same high standards for diversity on screen as we do off. Just because we don’t see the faces, doesn’t mean they can continue to all be white men. It’s not only unfair, but it keeps people from experiencing art from new voices. And that impacts all of us who miss out, not just the creators. The art exists, it’s just being held under wraps by whoever is running this festival (yes, except for the documentary category that is more 50-50). This article mainly focuses on indie film festivals, but this narrow set of directors seems to be a theme amongst movies or even other art forms as well.
It’s 2022, it baffles me that this is still a discussion and issue. “The indie filmmaking world has been male-dominated and continues to be so.” I truly do not understand the logic behind pushing only men to the forefront of entertainment production. The statistic that just 21% of the top 100 movies of 2021 had female leadership is horrendous, but unfortunately not shocking. To me and many others, there is zero question whether representation matters and how these numbers simply do not make sense, so why aren’t they doing anything? It is so frustrating continuing to see the blatant misrepresentation of people behind and on the screen. As someone who looks to the future and sees myself in a position behind the scenes in the entertainment industry, it is a little scary to think that this misrepresentation will still be prevalent. Onstage diversity and inclusion matters just as much as backstage, and recognition and achievement of the hard work done by women in these roles should be more common.
6 comments:
While I have researched the lack of opportunities for female directors, it still boggles my mind how little changed there is every year. According to the article, the change even till recently is around 1%. As someone who has done film work and been in those spaces, it is also a grim reminder to how much of a “boy’s club” that experience has been. This is made ever so present by the vitriol that is spouted whenever a franchise gender bends femme. Like the all-female ghostbusters’ trailer, and the cries from filmbros around the globe about how “men are being oppressed”. This failing trickles upward though. While a random lad’s bad take on twitter is minimal in the grand scheme of things, the ideology he spouts oils the machine of the grander issue of misogyny. Misogyny a lot of “higher ups” perpetuate because that is what they are exposed to in the rabbit hole of filmbro culture. I also do believe that men, especially white men, are so used to being represented in media, that when they are not. They feel personally violated. This being the case with the release of Turning Red. One of the most common critiques of the film was that it “was not relatable”. Even though this is a statement not brought up when said people rave about a culinary masterchef rat. It shows that part of the problem is egotistical ignorance. So childish yet so hard to see in yourself when the world is built around you.
This article and headline genuinely did not surprise me. This has been the way it has been for so long and I and many others would love to see this change – it’s obviously difficult. I was watching an interview which was essentially an actress roundtable (they are on youtube, actors and actresses just discuss industry things based off of their varied experience), and during this one an actress brought up that she had hardly worked with any female directors. Another actress responded that she had actually worked with many, but because she chose to seek out those jobs, and how she feels it is the responsibility of the actor to seek it out. While I do not know my opinion on that yet (I agree that there should be more women highlighted in these roles but who is the blame to really be based on... I’m not sure) I wish that these film festivals, and award shows, and streaming services etc. would highlight these women and their work. We know, and they know, that women directors are underrepresented in all of the above categories, so why aren’t they trying to balance that out? I understand that there is not just one single way or method to resolve this, but as a consumer of this type of media and art I would love to see this change as I’m sure many others would.
“A new study finds that multiple film festivals failed to highlight female directors and filmmakers” …yeah I’m not surprised. All statistics used to back this article made it even more disheartening to read. The one fact that was shining through and made this actually readable was about the documentaries. It is not saying much, but seeing that just as many documentaries were shown for men and women saved me a little. I hope that as the industry grows it becomes more rewarding for the women in this field. Festivals always want points for diversity but when it comes to the groups in question they never show up and back them. I have been meaning to watch CODA and seeing it receive the recognition it deserved was rewarding but I cannot say the same for many other female directors out there. Really, this whole article pained me but I expected nothing less.
I'm not sure if it's worse that these directors were left out, or that the headline doesn't seem to be that unrealistic. I think it's really strange that these festivals always seem to push diversity (which is great!) but evidently they don't actually end up showing a whole representation of the industry. The numbers really drive the point of the article home. It's just so wrong that these women treated unfairly like this; I'm wondering if this is an oversight or something else. Of course, festivals want to feature the best overall films, be it directed by men or women, but as the article says, festivals have a responsibility to feature underrepresented professionals in addition to the former. It's a bit of a saving grace that representation in the documentary field is better, but I would love to know more about why it isn't like that with narrative films.
This is upsetting to see but I can’t say I’m really surprised. It’s rare to see female directors in general, so yeah it’s even rarer to see them properly recognized for it. This article mentions that we have to have the same high standards for diversity on screen as we do off. Just because we don’t see the faces, doesn’t mean they can continue to all be white men. It’s not only unfair, but it keeps people from experiencing art from new voices. And that impacts all of us who miss out, not just the creators. The art exists, it’s just being held under wraps by whoever is running this festival (yes, except for the documentary category that is more 50-50). This article mainly focuses on indie film festivals, but this narrow set of directors seems to be a theme amongst movies or even other art forms as well.
It’s 2022, it baffles me that this is still a discussion and issue. “The indie filmmaking world has been male-dominated and continues to be so.” I truly do not understand the logic behind pushing only men to the forefront of entertainment production. The statistic that just 21% of the top 100 movies of 2021 had female leadership is horrendous, but unfortunately not shocking. To me and many others, there is zero question whether representation matters and how these numbers simply do not make sense, so why aren’t they doing anything? It is so frustrating continuing to see the blatant misrepresentation of people behind and on the screen. As someone who looks to the future and sees myself in a position behind the scenes in the entertainment industry, it is a little scary to think that this misrepresentation will still be prevalent. Onstage diversity and inclusion matters just as much as backstage, and recognition and achievement of the hard work done by women in these roles should be more common.
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