Is 2021 The Year For Female Film Directors To Even The Score?

Three female directors were nominated for Golden Globes this year and it is historic. Chloe Zhao (Nomadland) Regina King (One Night In Miami) and Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman). For the first time ever, women directors surpassed their male counterparts. Since the Golden Globes are a barometer for the Oscars, will female directors eclipse men in the Academy Awards’ Best Director Nominee category? Since the 1929 inception of the Oscar pageants, women directors were nominated a mere 5 times out of 453 total nominations; that’s a paltry one-tenth of one percent. I sat down with my friend, Writer/Director, Rachel Feldman, an advocate for parity in the film and television industry, to get her take on this year’s celluloid- ceiling shattering Golden Globe nominations. I also asked Leah Meyerhoff, of FilmFatales, a non-profit organization supporting equality in the film industry, to weigh in.

For the first time ever, the majority of 2021’s Golden Globe Best Director nominations went to women, does this mean the situation is improving?

RACHEL: It’s thrilling that three out of five nominees are women, especially coming from an institution that in the past had only nominated five women in their entire 78-year history. Yes, the situation is improving, but it’s far from improved. It’s still very challenging for women directors, especially in bigger budget, narrative films.

LEAH: Until the gatekeepers and decision makers truly reflect the diversity of our society, we will see more tokenism rather than systemic change.

What are the statistics on women directors in the film industry? Is there really a dearth?

LEAH: Over the last decade, only 57 women have received a director credit on one of the 1,300 top-grossing films. Of the top 100 films last year, 12 were directed by women which is higher than previous years but there is still a long way to go.

RACHEL: I’m not a statistician, one can find hard answers on this subject from social scientists Dr. Stacy Smith at The USC Annenberg School, or from Dr. Martha Lauzen at San Diego State University. Broadly, women are doing much better in television, but in feature films, women still lag behind at an enormous percentage difference from male directors. Keep in mind however, there is not a dearth of qualified women directors, only a dearth of opportunity.

Is there any significance to this milestone happening in this tumultuous year? Has anything shifted? Why now?

RACHEL: It’s significant to note that within these three nominations, we also have diversity of race. There was a “genderquake” three years ago, triggered by EEOC investigations into gender discrimination hiring practices in Hollywood, coinciding with the arrest of Harvey Weinstein and other predators, as well as the growth of #MeToo and #TimesUp. But gender is only one category that’s been side-lined, women of color have been building powerful initiatives, making sure that hiring women is for all women.

Is there any significance to why these films or these directors in particular were chosen?

RACHEL: Yes, these are freaking talented women who made stunning films!

Why do you think the film industry has been reticent to utilize the talents of female directors?

RACHEL: To answer this question is to dig deep into why gender discrimination happens at all, and yet has been happening from the beginning of time. The film industry, until very, very recently, for the most part, had not been interested in changing the status quo. White men were in charge and they hired people who looked like them because it was easy and reinforced their sense of entitlement. Women sound different, look different, and think different and initially these differences were perceived as negatives. Fewer women moved into the pipeline, and fewer still given subsequent opportunities to improve. But things are different now and will continue to improve. We are nowhere close to being finished but we are in an important moment of transition.

Why is it important that we have more women directing?

RACHEL: The first reason is just because it’s fair. Women should have 50% of all opportunities across the globe. But aside from sheer justice is the very important factor of giving voice and vision to more than one point of view. “The male gaze” can be stereotyping and objectifying, and while every woman will have her own viewpoint, giving audiences the opportunity to experience a wide variety of life experiences, histories, and approaches, deepens our understanding of the human spirit and ultimately creates empathy.

LEAH: Discrimination is detrimental in any industry, but especially in the media which has the power to shape who we are as a culture and how we see other people. Cinema is a vehicle for empathy, allowing audiences to relate to perspectives outside their own. People are hungry for new points of view. To tell the stories of the world, filmmakers must better reflect the composition of the world. Diversity behind the camera impacts diversity in front of it, and the more we can see reflections of ourselves on screen the healthier our society will be.

What do you think is the biggest misconception about female directors within the industry?

RACHEL:The idea that producers are “taking a chance” by hiring a woman director on a dramatic feature film, someone who is highly experienced making other forms of content, must end. Directing is a skill that combines many talents but there is no single way to become proficient. Women often report that the “goalposts are always moving.” Just when she has cleared one hurdle of proof, another, higher obstacle is put in the way. And there have been so many excuses, “We don’t know if she can handle car chases, or fights, or love scenes, or VFX… The fact is that if she is a trained director who has worked with top notch crews, she will know how to ask the right question to get what’s needed for the shot. No more excuses, folks. Hire us and we’ll exceed your expectations.

LEAH: That hiring inequality is a "pipeline problem" with not enough women interested in directing, when there are hundreds of talented women directors out there, continuing to make work despite incredible odds.

Is there a united front of women directors, a supportive community within the film industry or is it a climate of “dog eat dog?”

RACHEL: There are so many great groups and organizations of women helping women. I’ve been speaking out about gender equity in Hollywood for decades and it’s thrilling to see how different our community is now than it was. The women of the DGA have created an initiative https://www.instagram.com/bestdirecther/ to bring attention to women making movies and the more women we have in The Academy, I’m sure the numbers of women directed films will increase.

How do people looking for female directors find them?

RACHEL: What a great question. The DGA.org, both east coast and west, has women’s committees, where one can search for high-level professionals by gender and location. Leah’s organization, FilmFatales.org is a fabulous community of experienced women directors, Alliance of Women Directors showcases mostly women who have not yet joined the DGA. The JTClist is a fantastic source for women of color. And let’s not forget about women writers The Writers Guild, women cinematographers at The International Collective of FemaleCinematographers https://www.cinematographersxx.com/ , women composers at https://theawfc.com/ . And for department heads and other below-the-line positions, check out Womenn Media.

LEAH: There are other fantastic resources including: Brown Girls Doc Mafia, Latinx Directors, Black Women Directors, and on and on.

How do you feel this milestone is going to affect your own personal experience?

RACHEL: Every time a woman breaks through, it gets a little easier for a sister filmmaker. There is still so much prejudice, conscious and unconscious bias, that works against us every day, so each time a new woman’s film is acknowledged to be of value, it helps all of us prove that we might be too. I’m in late development on a feature film, a political thriller based on the remarkable life of fair pay activist Lilly Ledbetter that we hope to be shooting this Fall. Even though I’m a veteran director, it’s been an arduous journey, so the successes of other women are tremendously uplifting. The site is not up quite yet, but will be soon and will be found @ www.LILLYmovie.com. In the meantime, I hope your audience will follow me on Twitter @WomenCallAction.
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About the author:
Maureen Kedes is an actor, journalist, singer, mom, and unafraid to “tell it like it is.”

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