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| Management Team Winners Circle
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Articles You can access the IIE ARCHIVE for past articles.
The 2001 Census showed that in film production, 4,800 men had jobs, whereas only 2,902 women were employed in the industry. A 2005 Celluloid Ceiling report stated that 21 percent of the films released in 2004 employed no women as directors, producers, executive producers, writers, cinematographers, or editors. In Academy Award history, only three female filmmakers were nominated for best director: Lina Wertmuller, 1976, “Seven Beauties”; Jane Campion, 1993, “The Piano”; Sophia Coppola, 2004, “Lost In Translation”.
You couldn't exactly call the film industry “female friendly.”
"I believe there aren't as many narrative features directed by women because, historically, the director's role has been overwhelmingly filled by males," says Laura Colella, a professor of film at Rhode Island School of Design. "It's an extremely competitive field, with only a small number of people given the opportunity to make their features; so it's also a very conservative field and is resistant to change". Colella's most recent work is the film “Stay Until Tomorrow” which she wrote, directed, and produced. It has been screened at over 30 festivals, including the New England Film/Video Festival, where the piece won the “Best Independent Feature” award.
Jan Roberts Breslin is another professor who sees students poised on the brink of their own film careers, teaching both undergrad and grad students. A Media Arts professor since 1990 at Emerson College , Breslin enjoys the passion and vitality on the part of her pupils. “They are serious about starting a career in the film industry, so they're focused on why they're in school.”
While Breslin does see a lot of resistance towards women in certain fields, specifically mentioning cinematography, she says it's hard for her to address as she is outside of the mainstream. “It is definitely easier for a woman to move along in a producing track rather than a directing track, but my sense is that things have gotten better across the board.”
However, she is sure that Boston is a prime location as far as opportunities for a film career are concerned, especially for documentary, which she has a heavy background in. “It's not LA, but for documentary, it's probably better than LA.” She cites the legacy of WGBH, a public broadcasting station based in Boston , and the overall academic focus of the city as the two biggest factors in why Boston is so documentary-friendly.
Breslin's latest projects include a documentary piece entitled “Assuming Risk”, which looks at the different ways people perceive and rationalize risks to their own physical well being. The film relies heavily upon interviews with experts, performed monologues, and experimental visual interpretation.
One of Breslin's students at Emerson is Karen Black. She began pursuing her Masters for Media Arts at Emerson after finally realizing that filmmaking was her one true love in life. She enjoys the program at Emerson, and is taking a film elective on the side. “I like to tell people I'm a fictional narrative storyteller, because it doesn't matter if you film your ideas with a Fisher Price camera: you are expressing yourself and your story through a cinematic medium.” She's in production for her thesis film right now, a musical comedy called “Phil the Dolphin”, a 25 minute film being shot in Myrtle Beach , SC. “This is my Master's project that will be the culmination of my Emerson experience, and, hopefully, a showcase of what I've learned there.”
She's a bit more lukewarm about opportunities for film students in the Boston area. “The nice thing about Boston is that the area is not inundated with film students,” she says. “People seem more open to supporting student film because they don't get asked every day if someone can use their laundry mat as a location.” However, she sees many drawbacks to the area, citing a lack of paying work that she attributes to a weak union presence in the area, as well as the city's proximity to New York City .
And she is appalled by the unequal playing field for both genders in the film industry.
“I've networked with plenty of female filmmakers and heard their horror stories. I've been told by countless people in the industry that I should be a producer because it is ‘so much easier to make it as a woman.' I've been discouraged by the lack of female directors on any film festival roster, or movie house kiosk, or on industry deal lists in Variety and other publications.” Her belief? That projects should be staffed with the best people available for the job, regardless of gender. That Hollywood and independent companies should rely more on talent rather than making assumptions like “women can't direct action movies.”
There is hope, however. She notes that some women who are becoming wealthy from producing and acting have begun to open their own companies. Hopefully, she says, this will start to make the playing field a bit more equal between men and women. Until then, however, she's worried about the big question mark this situation leaves dangling over her career.
The imbalance of opportunities for men and women in the film industry leaves women filmmakers, especially directors, in a tough predicament. They're doing what they love, but being denied the chance to showcase their talent. “You must be given the opportunity to do something big in order to make it big,” Black says. For right now, however, women filmmakers continue to chip away and try to make a dent in the industry. As of the 2001 census, women outnumbered men in the film distribution industry 598 to 459. Women in the Director's Chair, an organization promoting media created by women, lists 38 different film festivals worldwide specifically dedicated to showing the work of women directors. Along with WIDC, other organizations exist solely to aid female filmmakers, including Women Make Movies and CineWomen.
As the saying goes, hope springs eternal. _______________________________ You don't have to go west to Hollywood to be discovered. In fact, it might be unwise. It is certainly unnecessary. The casting industry in New England is alive and well, and thriving. There are more than 7 casting companies in New England . Among the best known are CP Casting ( Boston ), Maura Tighe Casting ( Boston ), and LDI Casting ( Rhode Island ). But there is also Boston Casting ( Boston ), Peter Bezemes Casting ( Boston ), a713production ( New Hampshire ), and Between Gigs Casting ( New Hampshire ). These do not include the strictly online casting companies of New England Casting.com, NEED.com (New England Entertainment Direct.com) or the prolific online pages of NewEnglandFilm.com, where many a newcomer breaking into the business can get some pretty good gigs, sometimes even for money. Alternatively, there are events like the independent casting extravaganza that was held at SPACE Gallery in Portland , Maine last month where four independent production companies gathered in April to cast their own projects. The resumes of these companies are impressive, and growing. Maura Tighe cast State and Main , Ten Things I Hate About You , Next Stop Wonderland and Prozac Nation . Boston Casting, which celebrates its 25 th year in business this year, claims to be the largest casting company in New England . A quick look at their very long client/project list supports this claim. CP Casting helped cast Fever Pitch . Peter Bezemes Casting is so busy it lists its clients rather than it's projects, and the list is long. LDI Casting, the sole casting company in Rhode Island , cast Providence for Disney, and Something About Mary for the Farrelly Brothers, among other projects. Clearly, the casting industry in New England has come into its own. There's a sideline to a number of these casting companies. In addition to casting they also can provide filmmakers with crews, location scouts, audition rooms, and other production needs. For actors they offer a large number of workshops and classes. Peter Bezemes offers such specialized classes as The Child Actor, the Teen Actor, and very helpfully, Workshops for Parents of the Child or Teen actor. Boston Casting backs its mission statement: “To provide guidance to actors, lawyers, pro-athletes, business professionals, children, and teens by creating a place where individuals can develop and enhance their careers in media performance” by making available many different services. In addition to an impressive variety of classes, Maura Tighe Casting has some pragmatic advice on her website, including several photographers she recommends for headshots. What does the future hold for all these casting companies in New England ? Is there enough business to keep everyone busy and profitable? Yes. None of the casting companies grant telephone interviews (although Peter Bezemes Casting and Boston Casting get very high marks for being the most polite in saying no). The reason given? They are all too busy casting to talk about casting. So, save the bus fare to Hollywood . Somewhere near to where you live, wherever that might be in New England , someone is already set up to cast you, and maybe even make you a star!
Here are some sites to help you on your way:
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