Scotland’s first directory of women* documentary filmmakers has just been launched as part of our 50/50+ Women Direct campaign.
The 50/50+ Women Direct(ory) is designed to see more women filmmakers hired to work on documentaries being made in Scotland, showing the skills and talent which are often underused.
In 2019 we launched our 50/50+ Women Direct campaign to see 50% of Scotland’s documentaries directed by women by 2025. At that time, the data indicated women were directing just 16% of Scotland’s feature-length documentaries. Two years later the figure is closer to 30% which shows great progress, but given that women represent both 50% of Scotland’s population and 50% of its film industry entrants, a push is still needed to get Scotland to the point where women are directing 50% of its films.
Says Noe Mendelle, Director of SDI: “Film is a difficult profession to make money from, so those in it (predominantly white, able-bodied, middle-class men) often choose to work with the same people over and over again, to try to guarantee creative and financial success. However, diverse filmmakers tend to hire other diverse filmmakers. So change can happen if more women and non-binary filmmakers are hired and commissioned, if they have equal opportunity to develop their filmmaking practice and, very importantly, earn money.”
*our definition includes cis women, trans women, genderqueer, femme/feminine-identifying non-binary filmmakers.
Visit the 50/50+ Women Direct(ory) and add your details today!
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