#Inclusion
Women and Diverse Directors Set to Helm 63 Percent of FX’s 2021 Productions
Next year, for the first time in the network’s history, white male directors will not be helming the majority of FX productions. John Landgraf, Chairman of FX Networks and FX Productions,...
AMPAS Launches Conversation Series Focusing on Inclusion in Industry, First Ep Features Whoopi Goldberg
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), the organization behind the Oscars, has released the first installment of “Academy Dialogues: It Starts with Us,” a conversation series...
Quote of the Day: Issa Rae Talks Advocating for Herself and Holding the Door Open for Others
Issa Rae is an actress, creator, writer, and producer with three Emmy nominations to her name and a resume that includes “Insecure,” “A Black Lady Sketch Show,” “The...
Apply Now: The ITVS Diversity Development Fund
Independent Television Service (ITVS) is looking to develop “exceptional stories by filmmakers from diverse backgrounds: stories that take creative risks, inspire dialogue, and are rarely seen...
Quote of the Day: Lena Waithe Wants Hollywood to Mandate and Enforce Inclusion
In a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Lena Waithe reiterated some common knowledge about show business’ inner workings — and how it can be especially tough for women and people...
Michael B. Jordan and Color Of Change Introduce #ChangeHollywood Inclusion Initiative
In the wake of George Floyd’s murder and the widespread Black Lives Matter protests, it’s become clear that institutions — not least of all Hollywood — must reckon with their...
Guest Post: By Creating a Living History of Women in Electronic Music, I’m Telling a Different Kind of Story
Guest Post by Lisa Rovner People often ask me why the women in my film “Sisters with Transistors” aren’t represented in the history of electronic music, and while there are many factors...
Aurora Guerrero and More Launch First Latinx Directors Database
Aurora Guerrero (“Gentefied”), Alberto Belli (“The House of Flowers”), Joel Novoa (“Arrow”), and Diego Velasco (“Orange Is the New Black”) have set up...
Anya Adams Talks TV Directing and Winning an NAACP Award for “GLOW”
Anya Adams is an award-winning director who most recently took home the 2020 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series for “GLOW.” She won the prize for helming the...
BBC Commits $124 Million to Diverse Productions and Talent
The BBC has announced that it is committing £100 million ($124 million USD) of its existing commission budget to diverse and inclusive content over three years, starting in 2021. It stands as the...
U.S. and U.K. Black and Brown Creatives Sign Open Letters to Respective Industries
In the latest step in tackling systemic racism, the past week has seen Black and Brown creatives in the United States and United Kingdom pen open letters to the wider film and TV industry. On June...
WGAW Inclusion Report: Underrepresented Writers Making Gains, but Systemic Discrimination Persists
In the past year, underrepresented writers — including women, people of color, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ individuals, and people over age 55 — have made strides in movies and...
Francesca Gregorini to Direct Tennis Pic “The Match” for Inclusive Production Co. Four Daughters
Another day, another announcement of a women-centric sports film. Alexis Ostrander is directing a movie about The Red Rose Crew rowers, Netflix is working on a pic about the World Cup-winning 1999...
FemmePower Productions Introduces New Platform for Queer Content
FemmePower Productions, a queer femme-led company, is launching a new platform to help meet your “queerantine” needs. A press release announced that FemmePower TV and its lineup of queer...
Survey: Underrepresented TV Writers Face Discrimination at Twice the Rate of Overrepresented Scribes
The Think Tank for Inclusion and Equity (TTIE) has released its second “Behind-the-Scenes: The State of Inclusion and Equity in TV Writing” report. A survey of 333 working TV writers who identify...
Guest Post: A Recovering Angry Asian Girl Celebrates Trailblazers in PBS’ “Asian Americans”
Guest Post by Renee Tajima-Peña I am a recovering angry Asian girl and showrunner of “Asian Americans,” a docuseries about the epic and unexpected history of the country’s fastest...
Quote of the Day: Vanessa Bell Calloway on the Visibility of Black Women in Hollywood
With well over 100 credits to her name and decades of experience in the business, Vanessa Bell Calloway has witnessed first-hand how much in Hollywood has changed — and how much has stayed the...
Paz Vega to Topline and Produce MGM Comedy Series “Tacowood”
Paz Vega is headed to “Tacowood.” The Cannes award-winning actress is set to star in and produce the MGM International TV comedy series, Deadline reports. The story focuses on a single...
2020 Diversity Report: Women and POC Make Strides in Film, Remain Underrepresented
UCLA has released Part 1 of its annual Diversity Report, focusing on representation on both sides of the camera among the top 200 films released in 2018 and 2019. Like the 2019 report and the 2018...
Quote of the Day: Cynthia Erivo on Oscars’ Lack of Inclusivity & the Roles She Wants for Black Women
Despite the success and critical acclaim of films with racially inclusive casts this past year — “The Farewell,” “Hustlers,” and “Parasite” among them...
Research: More WOC Festival Programmers Means More WOC Directors Screening Films
We’re smack dab in the middle of the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, where 46 percent of competition directors are women and 38 percent are people of color. Given that Sundance is ongoing and that...
Sundance, SXSW, TIFF, & More Will Earmark Portion of Press Credentials for Time’s Up Critical
Several fests including Sundance, SXSW, Tribeca, TIFF, and Athena Film Festival will ensure more women, people of color, and other marginalized communities receive press credentials. According to...
Study: BFI Makes Progress with Implementation of Diversity Standards, but Further Change Is Needed
In June 2016, the British Film Institute (BFI) introduced guidelines to increase and improve diversity on-screen and off. These Diversity Standards addressed inclusion in regards to on-camera...
Effie Brown Named CEO of Gamechanger, Plans to Make Fund More Inclusive
Gamechanger, the first film fund by and for women, has appointed veteran producer Effie Brown as its new CEO. According to IndieWire, the “Dear White People” producer will work to expand...
DGA Report: Women & POC Directed Half of All TV Episodes in 2018-2019 Season, Marking a First
If you’re looking for some positive current events to discuss at Thanksgiving dinner next week, the Directors Guild of America (DGA) has got you covered. According to the guild’s new...
Ava DuVernay’s Anthology “Cherish the Day” Reaches Full Gender Parity
Every episode of Ava DuVernay’s family drama “Queen Sugar” has been directed by a woman. Her film collective, ARRAY Alliance, is dedicated to supporting and showcasing films from...
Chicago Arts Center Sisters in Cinema Announces Documentary Fellowship Recipients
Sisters in Cinema, a South Side Chicago-based media arts center supporting black women, girls, and non-binary individuals, has selected three first-time women filmmakers for its Documentary...
Sundance Institute Selects 2020 Momentum Fellows, Announces Inaugural Launch Grant Fund Recipients
Sundance Institute has chosen eight underrepresented filmmakers for its second Momentum Fellowship, and four women filmmakers for its inaugural Launch Grant Fund, a press release has announced. The...
Apply Now: NBC’s Female Forward and Emerging Director Programs
If you’re a woman, person of color, or non-binary individual looking to take the next step in your directing career, this is for you. Submissions are now open for NBC’s Female Forward and...
Quote of the Day: Mindy Kaling Calls the Women of Hollywood “Gate Crashers”
Mindy Kaling delivered a powerful call to action at Elle’s 2019 Women in Hollywood event, held Monday in LA. While accepting an award, the “Late Night” screenwriter and star urged...
Time’s Up Joins Forces with Latinx House Initiative
Time’s Up is supporting The Latinx House in its efforts “to create community, engagement, and further opportunities for Latinx voices in and outside of Hollywood.” The Hollywood...
New UCLA Study Offers Five Practices for Promoting Diversity in Hollywood
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re probably aware that Hollywood is mostly controlled by white dudes. There were 112 directors on last year’s top 100 films, and only one...
New Film Series From Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY Will Screen Works by Agnès Varda, Euzhan Palcy, & More
ARRAY Alliance, Ava DuVernay’s nonprofit film collective, has been releasing films about and by women and people of color since 2010 — Heidi Saman’s “Namour,” Lisa France’s...
Women of Color Led or Co-Led 11 of 2018’s Top 100 Films, According to New Research
As we’re all well aware, women are very much underrepresented on the big screen. However, according to new research from Dr. Stacy L. Smith and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, there is...
All 10 of the 2019 WBTVG Directors’ Workshop Grads Have Booked Directing Gigs
The seventh annual Warner Bros. Television Group (WBTVG) Directors’ Workshop is boasting a 100 percent job-placement rate. According to a press release, all 10 Class of 2019 graduates have secured...
Latina Characters Missing from 70 of 2018’s Top 100 Films, Study Finds
New research from Dr. Stacy L. Smith and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative — in partnership with the National Association of Latino Independent Producers and Wise Entertainment — has...
Guest Post: How I’m Honoring Women in Space — and Music — at the Hollywood Bowl
Guest Post by Penka Kouneva On August 15, Los Angeles Philharmonic will present a concert titled “America in Space” at the Hollywood Bowl. This one-night-only event will celebrate the...
FX Reports Encouraging Writing and Directing Stats at TCA
According to Chairman John Landgraf, the writers of FX’s 2019-2020 season are 25 percent white women, 20 percent women of color, and 16 percent men of color, while the directors are 28 percent...
The Black List Introduces New List Amplifying Stories By and About Latinx Community
Every year The Black List spotlights Hollywood’s top unproduced scripts — and now it will be doing the same with screenplays telling Latinx stories. Per IndieWire, The Black List has...
Apply Now: Leica Camera’s New Gender Diversity Initiative
Leica Camera USA has launched a new program called the Leica Women Foto Project “to support diversity and inclusion in photography,” a press release has announced. The initiative includes...
Submit Now: Issa Rae and Paul Feig’s Teen Movie Contest
The minds behind “Insecure” and “Freaks and Geeks” are teaming up to bring audiences the next great coming-of-age comedy. Issa Rae and Paul Feig are seeking pitches for...
Apply Now: Walt Disney TV Launches Inclusive Behind the Scenes Initiatives
Walt Disney Television is looking to add more women, people of color, LGBTQ+ folks, individuals with disabilities, and those from other underrepresented communities behind-the-scenes. According to...
Academy Invites 842 New Members, 50% Are Women and 29% POC
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), the organization behind the Oscars, has invited 842 people from 59 countries to join as members. According to the Academy’s website, 50...
Shonda Rhimes and Dove Launch Inclusive Image Database #ShowUs
Seventy percent of women don’t see themselves reflected in media images. “Grey’s Anatomy” creator Shonda Rhimes revealed this startling statistic at the the 2019 edition of...
Six Critics Orgs Join Forces to Promote Women, POC, and LGBTQ Voices in Film Journalism
Six national critics organizations are forming a coalition in order to champion marginalized voices in entertainment journalism. According to a press release, Critics Groups for Equality in Media...
Apply Now for the Inaugural Disney Launchpad: Shorts Incubator
The Walt Disney Company is offering directors from underrepresented communities the chance to “present diverse perspectives through the production of original, live-action short films for...
NBC Introduces Its First Below-the-Line Diversity Initiatives
NBC is ramping up its diversity efforts off-screen. The network — already the home of the inclusive Female Forward, Emerging Director, and Alternative Directors programs — has unveiled...
Jill Soloway Shares Topple List, an Inclusive Collection of Working Culture Creators
Jill Soloway has unveiled the latest way they’re working to topple the patriarchy. The “Transparent” creator and Time’s Up supporter introduced The Topple List, a living...
Quote of the Day: Mindy Kaling on “Late Night” and the Stigma of Being a “Diversity Hire”
Mindy Kaling scored one of the biggest deals out of Sundance this year for “Late Night,” a comedy about a veteran late-night host who hires her first female writer under pressure to make...
Report: Top Studios and Talent Agencies’ Leadership Lagging in Inclusion
Throughout the past year or so, the film industry has seen several gains in terms of inclusivity. Sixteen black directors worked on top-grossing movies in 2018, a 12-year high. Last year also marked...
Quote of the Day: Oprah Talks Empowerment and Opportunity
Oprah Winfrey has delivered yet another inspirational speech, this time at The Hollywood Reporter’s first-ever Empowerment in Entertainment gala. Accepting the inaugural Empowerment in...