Posts Marked female filmmaker

  • Cannes we start over next year?

    May 26th, 2010

    On Women’s Wednesday I talk about women in media.

    Not last week, but the week before
    Women in Film were hard to ignore.
    Overlooked & overwhelmed, thus they began
    A petition against Festival de Cannes.

    Yes, that’s my crude poem about the lack of female representation at the Cannes Film Festival, which came to a close May 23. While it appears that there was no protest, the You Cannes Not Be Serious petition reached 949 signatures. The Wrap reported that the petition was sent to the organizers of the festival – in case they were not yet aware of the stink being made – so that hopefully this situation will never be recreated.

    The counter argument has been: perhaps there were no quality films by women this year.  And to be honest, I haven’t been keeping my ear to the ground regarding the indie scene, shame on me! But Sukhdev Sandhu over at The Telegraph has, saying:

    The films in Competition were also all made by men. No one is asking for quota for women directors, but given the extraordinary cinema produced in recent years by the likes of Claire Denis, Lucrecia Martel, So Yong Kim, Julia Loktev, Agnes Varda and Lucy Reichardt, to name just a few), it’s hard not to conclude that any film festival so dominated by men is likely to be disappointing.

    So, there you have it folks.  The circus is over. There are hopes that the fuss was not for naught and that other festivals took note. My personal assumption is, with Kathryn Bigelow’s Oscar win, more women will get the chance to direct and there will be more female-driven films to choose from.  I just hope that festivals don’t overlook them because of a close-knit boys’ club.

    Thoughts?

    May 26th,2010 Blogging, Women's Wednesdays | Sections: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | No Comments

  • Cannes we agree to disagree?

    May 12th, 2010

    On Women’s Wednesday I talk about women in media.

    Last week I gave you details on how to sign a petition so that women could get a fair shot for the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival, which started today.  Well, the petition is now up to 550 and growing. Please show your support of female filmmakers like me and put your name on that petition.

    Now,  you might be thinking: “Shouldn’t be all be judged equally? Why should a woman get preferential treatment just because of her gender?”  If so, I’d like to point you in the direction of a recent debate over at the filmmaking community Shooting People. It started with a post from filmmaker Dennis Goldberg, regarding the request to sign the petition:

    WOW! I am stunned! Now, the choice of a director’s award is to be made based upon gender equality, not ability. Or, should we, even more appropriately, have it based upon gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, political, racial or other ethnicities as opposed to just plain good old fashioned in front of or behind the camera abilities?

    Has society degenerated to such a level that the best is judged not on merit but on socially acceptable profiling?

    Enough teary eyed whining! Get back to the art and improve so as to win next year on talent not on some false premise of “I’m as good as you because I am different”.

    “L’art pour l’art” PERIOD!

    The very next day he received several replies. These are my two (unedited) favorites:

    > Enough teary eyed whining!

    REALLY????

    Ok, first wrap your head around the fact that it took almost a century for a woman to win an Oscar as a director. suck on that for a while.

    Then, hotshot, strap on some boobs, shave, and live as a woman professional for a while. Try it out. Start sending your work out as Daniella and see what happens. Show up on set in the normal Gap style uniform but learn to politely ignore hooting, comments and requests to get someone a coffee, hun.

    Next, hack off 30% (at least) of your paycheck, and pass it to a guy on the crew with at least half your experience. Then, as you get passed over for key positions, accept a job in “typical” female production roles – production manager/coordinator, producer’s assistant, craft service, etc.

    Oh, don’t forget to make sure not to look too butch, so you don’t start getting called a “dyke” or something if you actually do physical work like moving sets, etc. And of course, when you present your work, expect it to be considered second tier, and not all that bankable, even though women make up 51% of the population and movie goers. Women’s stories just aren’t that interesting. Expect a budget a fraction of the size you’d really want to work with. Expect super low expectations from the studio and limited marketing, centering around “women’s holidays”.

    Please, try all the above, at a minimum, before stating crap like your knee jerk email that you shared with us all. Cause until you walk a block, not even a mile, in my shoes, shut the hell up. You have no idea what its like to be a woman creative struggling against a boys club where until recently you had to put up with bullshit to get along. Those days are over, Dennis, so nut up, and deal.

    We are no long asking, we are DEMANDING inclusion. If that’s “unfair” and “whiny”, to damn bad. Lead, follow or get out of the way, women are not having it any more. This isn’t whining, Dennis, this is HOWLING, so you’d better move aside, lest you get blasted for stupidity and naivety.

    Regards,
    Melissa Ulto

    AND…

    I agree that all films should be judged on their merit as films. However, the struggle that minorities have faced in this industry should not be taken lightly. Minorities have more opportunity now than they ever have, but it has been an extremely difficult road, and the industry still displays a great deal of hegemony in what kinds of films are considered “good”, and who gets the opportunity to make those films in the first place. I’m not only speaking about the traditional studio system, it’s in the independent world as well.

    I have been in the industry for 20 years, and have taught production, writing and theory at the college level for 10. I have seen enormous changes from the times when I was the only female in my film classes at NYU, to seeing women outnumber men in some of the classes I teach. But, it’s easy to recall having conversations with male filmmakers who asked, “How come women don’t make good films?”, and actually having to explain that because they liked “guy films”, that didn’t automatically mean that “guy films” were better than “chick films”. I’m using the quotes quite intentionally, as I feel that women should not be expected to only make “chick films”. I certainly don’t but I also don’t want anyone to make a judgement against me because my films are not testosterone-filled or even in more traditional male-dominated genres.

    It was nice that a woman finally won Best Director (although I had always planned on doing that first!), but it did not go unnoticed that it was for The Hurt Locker, and it was a woman known for directing more traditional “guy films” – Point Break, K19: The Widowmaker, etc. This is also fine – fun films, and power to her for playing the game wisely, particularly if she really enjoys these kinds of films. Lord knows, I’m a typical Star Wars baby who thinks she knows more about the original trilogy than anyone, has greatly enjoyed besting others (usually guys) in trivia, and would rather watch them than The Devil Wears Prada, any day.

    My overall point is that one has to be cautious about assuming that a woman having concern about not seeing women represented at the largest festival in the world, is “teary eyed whining”. I’d bet most male filmmakers can’t fathom going on a job interview to be a Director’s Assistant and being asked if they were single, how well they could cook (even though that was not in the job description), how close they live and if they live alone, and if they plan on losing a few pounds. Or how about a job interview at Yankee Stadium to do the Diamond Vision, a job requiring video skills that have nothing to do with genitals, and watching the interviewer’s face deflate immediately at seeing the next candidate was a woman, before any questions were asked, or even before “hello” was said? These two experiences (among others) were in my past, although not all that long ago, and I hope that my female students will never have to experience things like this. We’ve come a long way, and I doubt they will, but I’ll never forget what I experienced in this biz, in my younger years.

    All minority filmmakers have had to be pioneers, and while I certainly agree that films should be judged on the merits of the film, the quality of the storytelling and the art, please understand if those of us who have been shunned, passed over, endured sexism, racism, etc., get a little concerned when we see continued homogeneity in the industry. If you truly are “stunned”, as you say, to see this kind of concern, than it means that our sacrifices were not in vain, and the crap that we endured while trying to make the industry fairer to all minorities, was worth it. Because, then, you exist in a world of filmmaking where there is no sexism or marginalization of any kind. I hope we’re there – I’d really like it to be so, but I won’t fault my fellow female filmmaker for wanting some guarantees, or at the very least, checking a little more closely.

    I’d be very interested to find out what films were submitted that didn’t make it in, compared to the ones that did.

    Heidi C. Bordogna
    Producer/Director/Writer
    Asst. Professor of Communication
    University of Louisiana, Lafayette

    And to answer Heidi’s qustion, this post from Macine Pugh gave a few examples of probable contenders for Cannes:

    I copied this from the film festival website a couple of minutes ago:

    “And it’s a good year for British women directors, with documentaries by Sophie
    Fiennes and Lucy Walker, and a fiction debut, All Good Children, by hotly tipped
    newcomer Alicia Duffy. “

    I hope to have news of the Cannes protest for next week.  Until then, what are your thoughts? Do you think Cannes is a boy’s club? Or are there simply far less female filmmakers that submitted? What do you think the protesters at the Cannes Film Festival should do?

    May 12th,2010 Blogging, Women's Wednesdays | Sections: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

  • Sign the You Cannes Not Be Serious Petition, demand women get a fair shot!

    May 5th, 2010

    On Women’s Wednesday I talk about women in media.

    Last week I wrote about the distressing information that not one single female filmmaker has been accepted into the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival.  There were rumors of a petition and those rumors are true.

    FilmDirecting4Women (FD4W) “was created to make a real and positive contribution to the worldwide movement which demands that 50% of all films are directed by women.”  So, they are the perfect organization to start the You Cannes Not Be Serious Petition to protest the 0% of female directors in the main competition.

    The Petition reads:

    To the organizers of the Cannes Film Festival
    As people who care about and are interested in films we must protest the lack of female directors in competition for the 2010 Cannes Film Festival.  Women make up over half of cinema audiences and we demand a fairer representation of female directors in the main competition.
    We are raising our voices in protest in hopes that in the future this will never happen again.
    We are watching.  We will not be silent.

    The organizer of FD4W, Ruth Torjussen, thinks it is a preposterous idea that not one woman made a great film last year and will be launching a production fund which will only back short films directed by women to show support of female filmmakers. They are also launching a film festival in London this September so if you’re a female filmmaker check it out.

    In the meantime, you can join their Facebook Group to keep up to date with the petition and protest that will take place in Cannes.  If you want to partake in the protest you can email her directly at ruth@filmdirecting4women.com.

    Please take a moment to support this important cause.  Female filmmakers like me aren’t getting a fair shot because of the exclusive boy’s club that is the Cannes Film Festival.  And tell them I sent ya.

    You can sign the petition here.

    May 5th,2010 Blogging, Women's Wednesdays | Sections: , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

  • Cannes the Female Filmmakers please stand up?

    April 28th, 2010

    On Women’s Wednesday I talk about women in media.

    Melissa Silverstein over at Women & Hollywood is reporting that of the 18 films competing for the grand prize this year’s Festival de Cannes, not one is directed by a woman.

    While I did not submit my film to Cannes this year, Dirty Step Upstage was an official rejectee from last year’s festivities.  In retrospect I was naive to expect that my uncompleted micro-budget movie with no stars would make it in. But I had hoped the story behind the film might entice the festival, as I shot principal photography in Cannes and even in the building where the festival and market are held. The events which inspired the film also occurred in Cannes.  And on the 20th Anniversay of “sex, lies and videotape” winning the Palme D’or, I felt my film echoed the themes of home video, voyeurism and complicated relationships in an edgy and relevant filmmaking style.

    As I have discovered in the last year, acceptance into some of the more prestigious film festivals is often acquired through relationships (it’s all about who you know) and star power (bringing press and notoriety to the festival). So, where does sexism fit into the equation?

    Female filmmakers rejoiced when Kathryn Bigelow won the Oscar. But now, with Cannes as proof, Silverstein believes “we are still going backwards.” While I find the lack of girl power at Cannes disappointing, I wonder how many women were rejected. How many women submitted in the first place? Were the best films actually chosen?

    Silverstein mentions the rumor that female directors may protest the festival. I’m not sure if that means protesting this year’s events by not attending or picketing. Whatever the case may be, I’ll be sure to stay on top of this story.  Cannes is only a few weeks away and this is the year for female filmmakers to make a stand.

    What do you think? Are women terribly underrepresented because women aren’t given a fair shot, or because there are just less women making films?

    April 28th,2010 Blogging, Women's Wednesdays | Sections: , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

  • ALMT-WW: Sigourney Weaver thinks James Cameron didn’t win because “He didn’t have breasts.”

    April 14th, 2010

    On ALMT-Women’s Wednesday I talk about women in media.

    Yesterday it was reported that Sigourney Weaver (of whom I am a huge fan), is bitter about her director not taking home the big prize this February.  Weaver told Brazilian news site Folha Online:

    Jim didn’t have breasts, and I think that was the reason…he should have taken home that Oscar.

    She also thinks that the Best Picture Oscar should have gone to, can you guess…yes, Avatar. She goes on to say that, compared to the old days when big productions like Ben Hur won the awards, it is now “fashionable to give the Oscar to a small movie that nobody saw.”

    Various blogs are stating that Weaver is accusing the Oscars of sexism and in return, the blogs are ripping her a new one. Heckler Spray, as you can guess, hasn’t been very kind:

    We’re right behind you on this issue, Sigourney, and we’ll do anything we can to spread this message. Give equality to women by never letting them win anything! Remove the female vote! Down with girls! Down with girls!

    The Village Voice is comparing Weaver’s “crazy talk” to Obama’s Presidential campaign with “pundits like Geraldine Ferraro…saying “He only got this far because he’s black!” Should this at all be about race, gender, or other inconsequential details? When it comes to art, is it possible to look past these details?

    One of my favorite writers, Melissa Silverstein over at Women & Hollywood, asked an important question in “Sigourney Weaver Shits on Kathryn Bigelow”:

    Would anyone be talking about this if Tarantino or one of the other guys had won over Cameron?

    In fact The Times Online claims Bigelow’s win wasn’t a feminist one, since she’s now joined The Boy’s Club (although the article has more to do with identifying the traits of a great director that few women harbor: “insanity, brutality and selfishness”).

    As a female director, I was very excited when Kathyryn Bigelow was the first woman in the history of the Academy Awards to win Best Director.  I was rooting for her out of principle, as I had yet to see the film. And I was very relieved when I watched The Hurt Locker several days later, because it was a damn fine film. As for Avatar, I’m sure it was quite a challenge to make, but the story was recycled and, well,  you can read Tim Hayes’ review to get the details.

    I think the media was surprised that Bigelow didn’t make a big speech about how she shattered the glass ceiling and how women can make films too. She shooed it away, saying:

    I’m not a woman, I’m a director.

    And in the end, isn’t it possible that the best director won?

    April 14th,2010 Blogging, Women's Wednesdays | Sections: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment
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