The number of women at film festivals such as SXSW, Tribeca, and AFI Fest is reaching a critical mass. Dr. Martha M. Lauzen and the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film have published “Indie Women: Behind-the-Scenes Employment of Women in Independent Film, 2018-19” and found that the “percentages of women working as directors, writers, producers, executive producers, and editors on independent films reached recent historic highs” at over 20 major U.S. film fests. Women filmmakers are still very much underrepresented at festivals, but the needle finally seems to be moving in the right direction.
“Indie Women” analyzes over 10,700 credits on 970-plus films from 2018-19 and more than 80,000 credits on nearly 8,000 films from 2008-19. Gender is considered, but other demographics including race and sexual orientation are not taken into account.
For the first time, women directors, writers, and executive producers have all crossed the 30 percent line, which is the figure needed to be considered a critical mass. Women represented 33 percent of indie fest directors last year, 32 percent of writers, and 32 percent of exec producers. What these numbers mean is that there are now enough female directors, writers, and EPs at film fests to affect actual change.
Women producers (37 percent) and editors (29 percent) also reached historic highs. The only role that saw a decrease was cinematographer. In 2017-18, women made up 17 percent of fest DPs; last year, they comprised 16 percent.
“After many years of tracking stubbornly stagnant numbers, this year women achieved healthy gains in a number of key behind-the-scenes roles,” Lauzen said. “Despite these increases, it is important to note that women remain dramatically underrepresented, with independent films employing more than twice as many men as women in these roles.”
The increased presence of women at film fests could lead to even more women behind-the-scenes on festival pics. According to the research, movies with at least one female director also tended to feature more women writers, editors, and cinematographers. Women made up 72 percent of writers, 45 percent of editors, and 27 percent of DPs on movies directed by at least one woman. On films helmed exclusively by men, women comprised just 11 percent of writers, 21 percent of editors, and 10 percent of cinematographers.
On a positive note, films with at least one woman director also employed substantially higher percentages of women writers, editors, and cinematographers. For example, on films with at least one female director, women comprised 72 percent of writers versus 11 percent on films directed exclusively by men. On films with at least one female director, women accounted for 45 percent of editors versus 21 percent of films directed exclusively by men.
“These differences are dramatic and demonstrate that when women direct films, they disrupt traditional hiring patterns, installing women as writers, editors, and cinematographers,” Lauzen stressed. “This tendency counters the widespread and seemingly intractable bias that has favored male networks.”
Read the full “Indie Women” study over on the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film’s website.
