The 2019 Year In Review For Women Filmmakers
Small Victories But LONG Way Forward!
What a year it has been!
I don’t know about you, but the days seemed longer in 2019 and yet the year rolled over pretty quickly. So how do you think 2019 was for women filmmakers worldwide? Was it better or worse than in 2018? Reading all sorts of year-end analysis about diversity and inclusion you must be getting frustrated, just like I am. Truth is, as you would agree, things are still pretty bleak for women generally and WoC in particular.
Film Festivals Shun Women
There may have been some laudable milestones like Lulu Wang’s ‘The Farewell’ getting a worldwide distribution, say. But despite it being loved by the critics and audiences alike, the film didn’t make it to the Golden Globes nominations.
Film festivals like Venice, Cannes and many others have continued to ignore women in their festival line up. Of the 21 films in competition, only two were directed by women. The appointment of the female Argentinian director, Lucrecia Martel, as jury president alone can’t solve the issue — especially when some of her views on female-only quotas appear to be ignored by the men in charge, thereby defeating the very purpose of her appointment.
Despite coming under fire in recent years for the scarcity of women directors in its main competition, the Cannes Film Festival selected four films by women filmmakers among its 19-strong lineup. In total, 13 of the 47 films in the official selection revealed today are directed by women or about 28%. That’s a smaller percentage than Sundance, Berlinale, or last year’s Toronto festivals but ironically, it is an improvement on most previous editions of Cannes.
But here are some positives
Lifetime Achievements
The amazing Agnès Varda passed away in March this year, and it was right after she finished her final film. She made films till she died. I wish I could be a hair as awesome as she was. In a career span that began in the 1950s, Agnes received an honorary Palme d’Or, an honorary César, and an honorary Oscar for her contribution to cinema. A fierce feminist who didn’t mince words till the very end.
Italian director Lina Wertmüller, the first woman to ever be nominated for Best Director at the Oscars for her film ‘Seven Beauties’, received an honorary Oscar in 2019 at the age of 91.
Worldwide Release
20 films directed by women were given wide releases in 2019. While this still only represents about 1/6 of the films, it is a massive change over the beginning of the decade where there were about 4 films directed by women in wide release in one calendar year.
2019 Oscar Wins
Domee Shi wins Best Animated Short Film
Rayka Zehtabchi wins Best Documentary — Short Subject
Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (with Jimmy Chin) wins Best Feature Documentary
Film Festival Wins
Céline Sciamma wins Best Screenplay at Cannes for ‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’. She is the third woman to win the award for a script without any male co-writers. She also becomes the first woman to be awarded the Queer Palm, an independent prize awarded by critics.
French director Mati Diop becomes the first black woman to have a film compete for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. She goes on to win the Grand Prix for her debut feature film, Atlantics.
Angela Schanelec wins the Silver Bear for Best Director for her film ‘I Was at Home, But’ at the Berlin Film Festival. She is only the 4th woman after Astrid Henning-Jensen, Małgorzata Szumowska, and Mia Hansen-Løve to win the prize.
Superhero Scene
‘Captain Marvel’ broke the box office records by having the biggest opening weekend for a movie directed by a woman. It was also internationally the highest-grossing film ever directed a woman, briefly breaking Frozen’s record before being overtaken by Frozen II.
2020: What’s In Stock?
Five of the biggest titles set for release next year — including all four major superhero movies — will be directed by women: “Birds of Prey” by Cathy Yan, on Feb. 7; “Mulan” by Niki Caro, on March 27; “Black Widow” by Cate Shortland, on May 1; “Wonder Woman 1984” by Patty Jenkins, on June 5; and “Eternals” by Chloé Zhao, on Nov. 6.
Even outside of the Superhero genre, there are some incredible films lined up for release in 2020. Most of which are backed by the distribution giants. Here’s a handy list:
Television continues to provide greener pastures for women and POC where brave stories are nurtured and distributed widely. Many of the existing TV shows are slated to have a series extension in 2020 too.
Filmmakers like Ava Duvernay provide opportunities for women with her distribution company ARRAY Now. The film ‘The Body Remembers’ written and directed by Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers (who also stars) and Kathleen Hepburn, the drama explores two Indigenous women living very different lives who are briefly brought together by desperate circumstances got distributed widely by ARRAY Now. And in case you are figuring out what’s a good yardstick to measure what makes a film feminist, look no further. I got you covered.
Meanwhile in India
We are still living under a rock, but things are improving comparatively slowly.
I hope that the tide picks up in the rest of the world with many new filmmakers finding producers and recognition in film festivals abroad.
On that note, WMF wishes you a fantastic new year. One that promotes equality and frees women from sexual exploitation. Until we achieve it, the fight continues. Onward!
Vaishnavi is a writer, self-taught filmmaker among other things. You can read all of her work by signing up for her newsletter.
