gender parity – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

Tribeca 2023 Women’s Performances To Watch – Liz Whittemore reports

June 16, 2023September 4, 2023 Liz Whittemore female filmmakers, gabriela cowperthwaite, gender parity, tessa thompson, Tribeca 2023, TRIBECA FILM FEST 2023

The 2023 edition of The Tribeca Film Festival upped the ante for female filmmakers. Femme-centric storytelling gave us innumerable outstanding performances from women of all ages. As usual, I begin my annual roundup with the caveat that this list pertains solely to the films I watched. You can read more about the festival lineup in our collective AWFJ coverage, and it is aplenty this year. Here is my 2023 list of Women to Watch from Tribeca.

Festivals

Sydney Film Fest 2023: Films Made by Women – Nadine Whitney reports

June 9, 2023September 4, 2023 Nadine Whitney EUROPE! VOICES OF WOMEN IN FILM, female filmmakers, gender parity, jane campion, Sydney Film Festival 2023

Gender parity at major festivals is slowly improving and the 2023 Sydney Film Festival is no exception to this welcome and necessary development. In 2023 SFF decided to feature New Zealand/Australian director Jane Campion’s work as a centrepiece. JANE CAMPION – HER WAY showcases Campion’s work from early shorts to her award-winning The Power of the Dog. The strand also includes the documentary Jane Campion, The Cinema Woman by Julie Bertuccelli and Campion in conversation with critic David Stratton. Another important programming strand is EUROPE! VOICES OF WOMEN IN FILM, which introduces Australian audiences to debut features by women from a variety of countries including Italy, Iceland, Finland, Greece, Denmark, The Netherlands, Mexico, and Switzerland.

Festivals

HotDocs2023: Feminist Festival Wrap – Emma Badame reports

May 12, 2023 Emma Badame documentaries, female focus, female programming, gender parity, hot docs 2023

Hot Docs International Film Festival has long been a fabulous showcase of work from female filmmakers, and its 2023 line-up was no different. After achieving gender parity in 2018, this year the festival hosted a slate of world and North American premieres, director panel discussions, and networking events, there was plenty for film fans and industry members alike to take in as part of the festival’s 30th anniversary. The yearly, Toronto-based festival has been transparent about their goals of equity and inclusion, especially over the last 10 years. Hot Docs pledged “commitment to equity and inclusiveness in all aspects of the organization.” While they talk the talk, the organization clearly walks the walk when it comes to their programming too.

Festivals

YUKON’S AVAILABLE LIGHT FILM FEST 2023: Feminist Wrap – Rachel West reports

February 13, 2023February 14, 2023 Rachel West Available Light Film Festival, gender parity, Whitehorse, Yukon’

The 21st annual Available Light Film Festival (ALFF) in the Yukon is not just Canada’s largest international film festival north of the 60th parallel it’s also a film festival with gender parity in its programme selections this year, shinomg the spotlight on women behind-the-camera. Featuring many films that have been making the festival circuit in the past year, the festival brought these women-helmed films to Northern Canadian audiences who happily gathered for in-person screenings in Whitehorse.

News

WEEK IN WOMEN: CODA, BLACK WIDOW and others Receive ReFrame Stamp – Brandy McDonnell reports

April 13, 2022April 18, 2022 Brandy McDonnell black widow, coda, gender parity, nomadland, power of the dog, reFrame stamp, the week in womewn, twiw

This year’s best picture Academy Award winner CODA, 2021 best picture Oscar winner Nomadland and fellow Academy Award winners The Power of the Dog, Encanto, Cruella and West Side Story have met the criteria to receive the ReFrame Stamp.

Commentaries

One Thing Movie Studios Can Do to Support Diversity in Media Criticism – Betsy Bozdech comments

July 28, 2021July 28, 2021 Betsy Bozdech diversity in criticism, diversity in media, gender parity, rotten tomatoes

If studios and filmmakers truly believe in fostering diversity — behind the scenes, on camera, and in the dark rooms where writers who care passionately about film and media engage with their work — then it’s time to help make access to those films as equitable as possible. And that means continuing to make screeners available regularly so that reviewers everywhere, from every demographic, have the chance to make their perspectives heard. Equitable access to media screeners will give more voice to reviewers everywhere.

SPOTLIGHT

SPOTLIGHT February 2021: Carey Mulligan, Actress and Character Champion

January 31, 2021February 2, 2021 Valerie Kalfrin actors speaking out, Carey Mulligan, gender parity, promising young woman, spotlight

Carey Mulligan consistently and deliberately plays women who defy expectations. She likes the unpredictable story, pushing back against characters who look, move, or speak the way that female characters often have. Now after challenging herself as an artist and audiences, she’s asked critics to raise the bar as well, going beyond physicality when examining a film and what makes it work. As creatives strive to see the full spectrum of women represented onscreen, being honest yet constructive in our assessments – just as Mulligan is honest in her performances – is vital to moving forward.

News

WEEK IN WOMEN: Sundance Film Festival Hits 50-50 – Brandy McDonnell reports

January 21, 2021January 24, 2021 Brandy McDonnell gender parity, kim yutani, Sundance Film Festival 2021, tabitha jackson

The 2021 Sundance slate includes 71 feature-length films, representing 29 countries and 38 first-time feature filmmakers. The films were selected from 14,092 submissions, including 3,500 feature-length films. Of the feature film submissions, 1,377 were from the U.S. and 2,132 were international. 50% of the 10 directors in this year’s U.S. Dramatic Competition identify as women, while 40% identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color). In addition, 64% of the 11 directors in this year’s U.S. Documentary Competition identify as women, while 73% identify as BIPOC and 9% as LGBTQ+.

Festivals

Midnight Madness Gender Parity at TIFF 2020 – Alexandra Heller-Nicholas reports

September 1, 2020September 13, 2020 Alexandra Heller-Nicholas 0 Comments April Wolfe, gender parity, Madeleine Sims-Fewer, midnight madness, Peter Kuplowsky, Roseanne Liang, Shadow in the Cloud, tiff 2020, Violation

The 2020 Midnight Madness program is notable for reaching parity through an emphasis on both quantity and quality, making claims of tokenism effectively impossible. While the ethical debates around programming and equity in terms of gender and other points of difference are complex, to achieve gender parity in a program of top shelf films where 50% of the filmmakers are women and 50% are people of color is no small deal.

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