Study finds more women employed behind the camera this year, but still not enough

Together, the WMC and BBC America found as part of their collaboration, “The Superpowering Women in Science Fiction and Superhero Film: A 10-Year Investigation,” that eighty-six percent of science fiction and superhero movies have a male lead or co-lead. (Image Courtesy: Ms.).

 

The Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film published findings this month which indicate that out of nine hundred seventy independent films, women’s representation among writers and executive producers increased six percent this year, according to Ms. Unfortunately, only thirty-two percent of the writers, executive producers, producers, editors, directors, and cinematographers surveyed are women, and male-directed independent movies are screened twice as often at film festivals as those directed by women. Furthermore, Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan, and Gloria Steinem’s Women’s Media Center says just three percent of science fiction and superhero pictures released this decade were directed by women; however, the path to change is clear, as “Indie Women: Behind-the-Scenes Employment of Women in Independent Film” outlines that seventy-two percent of writers behind female-directed films in 2019 are women.

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AMC Theatres introduces “AMC Artisan Films” as an alternative to blockbusters

AMC Theatres is launching a new programming-marketing strategy called “AMC Artisan Films” to draw attention to more character- and narrative-focused features as opposed to blockbusters, according to Variety. Elizabeth Frank, the company’s executive vice president of worldwide programming, says not only is AMC known in the industry for distributing blockbusters, they also carry more artist-driven titles than any North American competitor. In an effort to boost the success of these lesser-known movies, AMC Artisan Films is seeking earlier runs from platform releases, as well as playing them longer in the theater in the hope that there will be enough time for positive word-of-mouth to reach audiences.