Battling gender imbalance in Hollywood

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Battling gender imbalance in Hollywood --

Thu, 03 Jul 2014 09:50

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US mass media company 21st Century Fox is hosting a mentorship course for female filmmakers, in an initiative to even out gender imbalance in the industry.

Nicole Bernard, Executive Vice President of Fox audience strategy commented, The cross-divisional enthusiasm to launch this initiative speaks to our commitment to drive industry change, and we hope that stellar creative arts organisations across the globe will be equally excited to join us.

Of the 20 participants, five will be selected, after undergoing a five week directing workshop, to enter a ten-month programme where they will develop a short film, which will be released under the Fox brand.

Joe Earley, Chief Operating Officer of the Fox Broadcasting Company added: To connect with viewers today, we need stories that represent the amazing range of experiences and voices in the real world. Along with writers, the vision of directors is key as they obviously bring those stories to life through their own lens.

According to a report done by the Sundance Institute, woman directors contributed only 4.4% of 100 top-grossing US films made between 2002 and 2012, 41.5% of which came through the institute s programmes. It also revealed that female employment was self-perpetuating as female directors are more likely to hire female staff, feature more female characters in their films and write movies that are less violent than those made by men.

Despite the success of a few exceptions such as Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) and Jane Campion (The Piano), the lack of female voices in Hollywood has come under scrutiny. Organisers of the 2012 Cannes film festival apologised to feminists and critics after it surfaced that none of the directors competing for the Palme dOr prize were female.

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