Film Festivals Failed to Highlight More Movies From Female Directors in 2021-22, Study Finds
variety.comBrent Lang Executive Editor The independent film world remains male-dominated, but female filmmakers made modest improvements behind-the-scenes, at least on the movies that got screened and streamed at festivals in recent months.
That’s the conclusion of a new report by the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University, which found that between 2021 to 2022, women comprised 39% of directors, writers, producers, executive producers, editors, and cinematographers working on independent films at high-profile film festivals in the U.S.
That was an infinitesimal 1% increase from the previous year. Many of these film festivals played host to prominent movies from female auteurs such as Sian Heder’s “CODA,” which debuted at Sundance before capturing the Oscar for best picture, Rebecca Hall’s “Passing,” another Sundance entry that sold to Netflix, and Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog,” which screened at the New York Film Festival before winning an Academy Award for best director.
But despite their success, the number of female directors at these gatherings only increased by a percentage point to 40%. In terms of other roles, women comprised 35% of writers, down a percentage point from 2020 to 2021; 42% of executive producers, a 4% increase; 44% of producers, roughly even with the previous year; 33% of editor jobs, down 4%; and 21% of cinematographer credits, down 2%.
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