Written by Kianna Best on Jan 10, 2025. Posted in General Interest

Bring female directors to the front

Whilst critically acclaimed projects such as Baby Girl, Love Lies Bleeding and The Substance were the talk of many a tongue last year, 2024 saw a shameful 16% of the 250 top grossing movies directed by women. The representation of female directors in Hollywood has seen minimal progress in recent years, with recent studies highlighting persistent gender disparities in the industry, and within that, even further skews lacking in favour for female directors of colour. With awards season underway, can the display of disparity once again start the shift to more equitable representation in 2025 and beyond?

 

 

According to the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University, women directed 16% of the top 250 highest-grossing domestic films in 2024, a figure unchanged from 2023. Notably, within the top 100 films, the percentage of female directors declined to 11% in 2024 from 14% in 2023. Similarly, a study by USC's Annenberg Inclusion Initiative reported that women comprised 13.4% of directors among 112 films in 2024, a slight increase from 12.1% in 2023. The representation of women of color as directors rose modestly to 5.3% in 2024 from 3.4% in 2023.

 

These statistics underscore the slow pace of change in achieving gender parity among film directors. Despite the critical and commercial success of films directed by women, such as Halina Reijn's Babygirl and Coralie Fargeat's The Substance, the overall employment of female directors has not seen significant improvement. Martha Lauzen, director of the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, noted that high-profile successes have not translated into broader opportunities for women in directing roles.

 

 

“In 2024, 70% of films employed 10 or more men in key behind-the-scenes roles but only 8% employed 10 or more women,” Lauzen stated in her report, The Celluloid Ceiling: Employment of Behind-the-Scenes Women on Top Grossing U.S. Films in 2024. “Women directed and wrote some of the year’s buzziest films, including The Substance and Babygirl. But their directors, Coralie Fargeat and Halina Reijn remain exceptions, not the rule. The stunning successes enjoyed by high-profile women in the last few years – including Greta Gerwig, Jane Campion, and Chloé Zhao -- have not translated into opportunities for greater numbers of women. Visibility for a few has not generated employment for many.”

 

Whilst the data carries a staggering weight, efforts to better the reality are being made with initiatives such as the recently announced the Female Filmmakers Support Programme led by UNIQA SEE FUTURE Foundation in partnership with Sarajevo Film Festival and Slano Film Days. This initiative, boasts a budget of EUR150,000 for 2025, and aims to empower women in film across six Southeast European countries: Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Romania, and Montenegro.

 

"The filmmaking industry holds immense power in shaping public opinion," Adel Bahtanović, president of UNIQA, SEE region stated, emphasising the importance of amplifying women’s voices in cinema. "Hearing more stories from female perspectives enriches our understanding of life and creates a more inclusive world."

 

The under representation extends beyond directing roles. Women accounted for 23% of directors, writers, producers, executive producers, editors, and cinematographers working on the top 250 films of 2024, reflecting a modest increase from 17% in 1998.

 

This information highlights the dire need for sustained efforts to address gender disparities in the film industry. While individual successes of many female film professionals are noteworthy moments in a longstanding desire for change, systemic changes are essential to ensure equitable opportunities for women, particularly women of colour, in all facets of filmmaking.