The industry and mainstream media are — at long last — starting to address the dearth of opportunities for women directors, but the conversation hasn’t shifted as much when it comes to the stats for female cinematographers, which are even more discouraging. According to research from Dr. Martha Lauzen and the Center for the Study of Women in Television & Film, women accounted for just four percent of the cinematographers working on the 250 top-grossing films of 2017. The inaugural Fox DP Lab program aims to help level the playing field — it’s designed to improve opportunities for female cinematographers by connecting participants with working professionals such as producers, directors, agents, and executives. The lab’s first-ever class has been announced, Deadline reports.
The eight participants will “visit the sets of Fox-produced comedies ‘Speechless’ and ‘Fresh Off The Boat,’ as well as Fox feature film ‘Call of the Wild,’ where they’ll meet with Academy Award-winning Director of Photography and AFI Conservatory alumnus Janusz Kamiński,” the source details.
The inaugural class is comprised of Tarin Anderson, Anne Etheridge, Catherine Goldschmidt, Halyna Hutchins, Hana Kitasei, Anka Malatynska, Dominique Martinez, and Moira Morel. All are recent graduates of the AFI Conservatory, the institute’s filmmaking MFA program.
“We’re excited about this initiative to propel female DPs in their careers,” said MyKhanh Shelton, Senior Vice President, 21CF Global Inclusion. “We believe that focusing on increased gender representation in this key role will help accelerate diversity throughout production crews.”
The lab kicked off yesterday, November 8, and is continuing today.
A co-founding member of Illuminatrix, a collective of female cinematographers, Goldschmidt’s previous credits include Oscar winner “Twenty Feet from Stardom.” Kitasei is a guest-lecturer at AFI Conservatory as well as a member of the International Collective of Female Cinematographers. Head over to Deadline to read more about the participants.
