Lights, Camera, Action!

---

     In recent years, the film industry has made an attempt to diversify leading roles in various movies and series around the world. While this effort is most certainly appreciated, it is not enough when it comes to behind the scenes. There is a lack of female representation when it comes to directors, writers, and top studio executives, and the issue needs to be brought to light.

     As of 2018, women comprised of just 8% of directors working on the top 250 US domestic grossing films in the U.S. A new study, titled the Hollywood Diversity Report of 2020: A Tale of Two Hollywoods, dives deep into the statistics of female and people of color representations in the making of films in the industry. The study, authored by Dr. Darnell Hunt and Dr. Ana-Christina Ramón, notes that women as a whole “remained under-represented by a factor of more than 3 to 1 in this employment area in 2019.”  

     Although female writers and/or directors grew over the past few years, almost all of them were white. By 2011, people of color make up only 12.2% of directors in films and women of color were part of an even lower percentage.  

     Now with the rise in streaming platforms and the popularity of multi-episode series, numerous opportunities open up for female filmmakers around the world. Women all around share their ideas and craft a marvelous way to showcase it with the support of other female directors. Several film festivals in Cairo, Barcelona, Hong Kong, Ghana, and South Korea have been focused on promoting female filmmakers and their films. With female directors come female participation in the rest of the industry. Research from the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film shows that movies with a female director “employed greater percentages of women writers, editors, cinematographers, and composers than films with exclusively male directors.”  

     So of there are so many opportunities for women to direct and make movies, why aren’t there many who do it. Well, the film industry was stuck in a vicious cycle, where men hire in their own image. The majority of directors are male, and they hire and train men for the job. And by the film industry being a male dominated industry, women are only now able to establish their place in it. However, these women do not have many female role models to follow, because of the same reasons.  

     As women make their way into the film industry, we see many more of their movies being shared with the world. How about we show our appreciation to the wonderful female directors, writers, and many more around the world?