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Second Workshop Report – 7 to 9 November, 2012 – Retz (Austria)
Module 5 – A diversity of voices… a real challenge
This topic was brought up by the participants to the First MEDICI Workshop in order to delve more deeply into the “diversity” issue in the context of decision-making. The discussion focused mostly on “gender” diversity. The Nordic funds are voluntarily confronting this issue in order to achieve equal access for women and men to their programmes.
Please also see Anna Serner (Swedish Film Institute)'s presentation “How we are working for Diversity and Gender Equality" (PDF)
Mission, Challenges and Conclusions.
Funds are facing real challenges to attain ‘diversity’ in their decision-making process. How can gender representativity be dealt with?
Or, in other words:
- What is meant by diversity?
- What are the strategies for enhancing diversity in film production?
- Why do those in power have no desire to see things change?
- Is it true that there are very few competent women filmmakers?
- Why do women not get to make their second and third films?
- Is there an equal number of young women and men who dream of becoming a film director?
- Does counting the percentage of women as compared to men lead to equality?
1. Missions of Film Funds
- To make funded films reflect diversity in a society.
- To promote freedom of speech, diversity of voices and divergent perspectives on society (class, gender, age, ethnicity, sexuality, ideology, etc.).
- To create clearly defined agendas and goals regarding diversity.
- To enhance the impact of films on society.
- To take joint responsibility for improving diversity by presenting action plans to all links in the chain: politicians, media policy makers, PR managers, etc.
- To have a clearly diversity-related agenda when addressing Parliaments and politicians.
- To conduct more diversity-related studies in collaboration with universities and professional associations.
- The cultural context in which one works should be taken into consideration. The same gender-equality schemes cannot be applied to EU countries and Islamic countries.
2. Challenges
Gender diversity
Many film professionals remain critical of the introduction of gender-equality schemes and strategies. Commissioning editors wonder whether they would have more problems explaining their decisions. Producers wonder whether they would encounter more troubles in obtaining support. Established directors who have been spoiled by their easy access to public funds’ money are also skeptical about gender-equality changes.
How to counter arguments that gender equality is not possible, by taking concrete actions?
- By systematically monitoring how many films with men and women in key positions receive funding over time. The gender equality perspective should represent an important part of the funds’ day-to-day work. The ongoing monitoring of the funding should be intensified, so as to reveal the structures and thereby identify working approaches that help create a film industry marked by gender equality.
- By starting up research projects with producers’ associations, various institutes and universities to study the structures currently existing within the industry.
- By setting up film portals to spread the visibility of female filmmakers from the various regions.
- By developing mentor programs for women. The programming should entail time allotted by established directors to grant first-time directors one-on-one meetings as well as group discussions. The programmes would also include training in leadership and gender equality.
- By developing initiatives to highlight role models and mentors for young women who, as teens, show an interest in the film profession.
- By starting up projects to strengthen long-term equality in areas where emerging filmmakers spend their time, such as at schools, film festivals and film camps.
- The names of several established female directors are used as tokens to demonstrate gender equality in the film industry. For instance, Suzanne Bier is often mentioned. But does that suffice? Shouldn't there be more female names?
- By establishing funds accessible exclusively to female directors.
- By introducing mixed projects where men and women would be encouraged to work together (at film schools, for example).
- By putting certain values upfront in the film fund guidelines.
How can the decision-making process be improved in order to contribute to gender equality in film production?
- By identifying what it is that influences decision-making. Does it take someone who is really great, or someone about whom decision-makers have preconception that he/she must be great?
- By overcoming a preconception that men are more talented and competent as filmmakers than women.
- By avoiding strictly political decisions and making films meant only to satisfy the funds. This can impair objectivity - especially the introduction of quotas.
- By not setting too many goals.
- By checking out the situation and the schemes implemented in other countries.
- By paying attention to the content, and to how female characters are portrayed (using, for instance, the Bechdel test).
Diversity in general
How to at once ensure diversity and remain clear-minded in decision-making?
- By making funds more independent of the ministries and Parliament when it comes to deciding what they want to support.
- By avoiding mandatory checklists of politically correct films.
- By fair representation of all ethnic groups where members of said ethnic groups are to take part in the decision-making.
- By organizing regular screenings of supported films followed by the discussions about how their diversity, impact and quality can be improved. At such discussions, film critics and other outside experts should be present.
- By defining clearly the target groups of a film.
- By explicitly determining the kind of values a film intends to promote.
- By identifying different topics diverse groups in a society wish to discuss.
- By avoiding the introduction of quotas as long as possible.
- By introducing an awareness campaign.
- By not sacrificing originality and project quality for any reason whatsoever.
- By searching for talents from wider groups instead of a limited pool of film professionals.
- By keeping positive discrimination under control.
- By evaluating the projects rather than the applicants.
Conclusions
- Acquiring diversity in the film industry entails above all challenging both general preconceptions and those we ourselves harbor..
- Before introducing gender equality schemes, the issue should first be submitted to measurement and statistics. Secondly, a flexible agenda should be established. Thirdly, a long-term timeline together with the strategy for the budgeted fund raising should be determined (the gender equality strategy that the Swedish Film Institute is currently implementing, for example, is expected to give results by the end of 2015).
- It is necessary to be clear about what and why you want to offer support.
- Many consider quotas as the most extreme, or even undemocratic, form of eradicating gender imbalance in the film industry (Norwegian film institute did try to introduce quotas, though).
- The exchange of experiences among different countries can be inspiring for achieving diversity and gender equality in film production.
- Module 1 — The Role of Public Film Funds
- Module 2 — Coproduction, Minority and Agreements
- Module 3 — Financing Tools
- Module 4 — National Funds / Regional funds – Friends or Competitors?
- Module 5 — A diversity of voices… a real challenge
- Open Space Module
- List of Participants (PDF)
- MEDICI Second Workshop Full Report (PDF)
Illustrations by Rudi Klein, photos by Nora Friedel
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