Not Your Villain

Inspired in part by the release of the much awaited James Bond film No Time To Die, Changing Faces have launched a new film in their #IAmNotYourVillain campaign this week — speaking directly to filmmakers.

From Darth Vader in Star Wars to Scar in The Lion King, filmmakers have long made a link between physical disfigurement and evil.

Our campaign calls on those in the film industry — script writers, casting directors, film producers, production companies and directors — to stop using scars, burns or marks as a shorthand for villainy. — changingfaces.org.uk

The new film, called ‘I am More Than Just Your Villain’, shows a series of people with facial disfigurements dressed as classic Hollywood characters — but not the villains that people with such disfigurements are often depicted as. Instead the people featured, all real people with these disfigurements rather than actors covered in SFX makeup, portray James Bond, Indiana Jones and more, ‘showing a future where people with visible differences are the hero, love interest or main character — and not just the villain. #IAmNotYourVillain’

This follows a previous mini doc from Changing Faces in 2018, which also covered similar issues. Produced by Stories Like Us, and directed by Tyson Joseph, they ‘sought to create a film with our young champions and ambassadors with visible differences. They talk about the impact of always seeing scars or burns used to portray a “villain” in films and on TV’. It’s powerful stuff, and an important lesson for creatives working in film, TV and beyond. How these characters are represented has a tangible effect.

The research into this trend conducted by Savanta ComRes is particularly shocking.

• Only 1 in 5 people with a visible difference have seen a character who looks like them cast as the hero in a film or on TV.
• Just 15% have seen someone with a visible difference playing the love interest on screen.
• While 39% have seen someone with a visible difference cast as the villain or “baddie”.

However, while Hollywood blockbusters may take a while to move away from this damaging trend, the BFI this week have outlined their commitment to Changing Faces’ cause. In a statement, Ben Roberts, Film Fund Director at the BFI said:

“Film has such a powerful influence on society, it enables us to see the world in new ways, enriches lives and can make a vital contribution to our wellbeing. It also is a catalyst for change and that is why we are committing to not having negative representations depicted through scars or facial difference in the films we fund.

It’s astonishing to think that films have used visible difference as a shorthand for villainy so often and for so long. The time has come for this to stop.

The BFI believes that film should be truly representative of the UK, and this campaign speaks directly to the criteria in the BFI Diversity Standards which call for meaningful representations on screen. We fully support Changing Faces’ I Am Not Your Villain campaign and urge the rest of the film industry to do the same.”

The BFI has therefore become the first organisation to sign up to Changing Faces’ campaign, and committed to making a difference, including to stop funding films in which ‘negative characteristics are depicted through scars or facial difference’. It’s a huge step in the right direction for the industry — one that we can all follow in the footsteps of.

To learn more about this campaign, and how you could get involved, take a look at the Changing Faces website.