This year’s Berlin Film Festival kicked off yesterday—screening over 400 films—19 of which are in competition.

Festival director Dieter Kosslick says that gender is a central theme of this year’s festival.

Women are front and center in many films, and many were made by women as well.

However, in our research of the films playing at Berlin we are not conviced that gender is front and center.  While there are several films about women, few are directed by women.  Only 2 of 15 films in competition are directed by women. 

This is an issue that needs to be addressed, and Women and Hollywood and the Athena Film Festival are a part of that dialogue.  This year, during Berlin the Berlin Film Festival, the Dortmund | Cologne International Women’s Film Festival and the Athena Film Festival are helping to convene a panel, “You Cannot Be Serious—A Discussion on the Status of Women Directors.”

To be held on February 15, the panel will be an assembly of representatives from film festivals, networks and the industry executives who will discuss the statistics, the state of women directors and their representations at international festivals, and to draw up an agenda that will progress gender equality for women directors in the industry.

If you are at Berlin and would like to attend the panel, you can find details below.

Berlinale 2013: Film Fest Spotlights Women and Eastern Europe (Spiegel Online)