Facts about women in the film industry

Harping on the topic brought up in the previous post, I thought it would be relevant to post about the facts of the current state of the film and entertainment industry.

According to the 2006 Report of the Celluloid Ceiling [a survey conducted each year by Martha M. Lauzen, who is a professor in the School of Communication at San Diego State University]"A comparison of women's employment on the top 250 films in 2005 and 1998 shows that the percentages of women directors, writers, executive producers, and cinematographers have declined, while the percentage of women producers has increased."

Women's E-News also reported "In Academy Award history, only three female filmmakers have been nominated for best director award (Lina Wertmuller in 1977, Jane Campion in 1994, and Sofia Coppola in 2004), but none have won."

The need for more female directors is great, not only for the sake of equality in statistics, but also for the sake of the preservation of film as a keyhole into a specific perception of the world. The female perspective is one we rarely get to see, yet is often as elegant, dramatic, frightening, or sensual as any film we should see directed by a man.

OFFscreen is proud to have included two powerful films directed by women in the line-up for this semester (Old Joy by Dir. Kelly Reichardt & Innocence by Dir. Lucile Hadzihalilovic.

If you are interested in the role of women in the film industry and wish to know more you should check out a few of these organizations who work to not only raise awareness of lack of female employment, but also aide women in getting their films made and publicized.
Women Make Movies
Women in Film: A Non-Profit Organization
New York Women in Film & Television