A recent dip in female-led theatrical releases in the UK - back to 2018 levels of 26% reminds us that our work is far from over; that we cannot be complacent.
Below you can read about the research we conduct into gender representation in film and the wider industry, tracking the release landscape to present an accurate picture of investment in films by filmmakers of marginalised genders.
Here you can also find out about news and opportunities at Reclaim The Frame, along with curated film recommendations, filmmaker interviews, and creative responses.
Co-written by Patricia Resnick & Colin Higgins.
Frank Hart is a pig. He takes advantage in the grossest manner of the women who work with him. When his three assistants manage to trap him in his own house they assume control of his department and productivity leaps, but just how long can they keep Hart tied up?
9 to 5 (listed in the opening credits as Nine to Five) is a 1980 American comedy film directed by Colin Higgins, who wrote the screenplay with Patricia Resnick. It stars Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Dolly Parton as three working women who live out their fantasies of getting even with and overthrowing the company’s autocratic, “sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot” boss, played by Dabney Coleman.
The film grossed over $103.9 million and is the 20th-highest-grossing comedy film. As a star vehicle for Parton—already established as a successful singer, musician and songwriter—it launched her permanently into mainstream popular culture. A television series of the same name based on the film ran for five seasons, and a musical version of the film (also titled 9 to 5), with new songs written by Parton, opened on Broadway on April 30, 2009.
The film was based on an idea by Jane Fonda, who had recently formed her own production company, IPC. Fonda:
“My ideas for films always come from things that I hear and perceive in my daily life… A very old friend of mine had started an organization in Boston called “Nine To Five”, which was an association of women office workers. I heard them talking about their work and they had some great stories. And I’ve always been attracted to those 1940s films with three female stars.”
Fonda says the film was at first going to be a drama, but “any way we did it, it seemed too preachy, too much of a feminist line. I’d wanted to work with Lily [Tomlin] for some time, and it suddenly occurred to [her producing partner] Bruce and me that we should make it a comedy.” Patricia Resnick wrote the first draft drama, and Fonda cast herself, Lily Tomlin, and Dolly Parton in the leads, the last in her first film role. Then Colin Higgins came on board to direct and rewrite the script. Part of his job was to make room for all three in the script. Higgins says Jane Fonda was a very encouraging producer, who allowed him to push back production while the script was being rewritten.
“He’s a very nice, quiet, low-key guy”, said Parton of Higgins. “I don’t know what I would have done if I’d had one of those mean directors on my first film.”
Higgins admitted “he expected some tension”, from working with three stars, “but they were totally professional, great fun and a joy to work with. I just wish everything would be as easy.”
“It remains a ‘labour film’, but I hope of a new kind, different from the Grapes of Wrath or Salt of the Earth“, says Fonda. “We took out a lot of stuff that was filmed, even stuff the director, Colin Higgins, thought worked but which I asked to have taken out. I’m just super-sensitive to anything that smacks of the soapbox or lecturing the audience”.
Fonda says she did a lot of research, focusing on women who had begun work late in life due to divorce or being widowed.
What I found was that secretaries know the work they do is important, is skilled, but they also know they’re not treated with respect. They call themselves “office wives”. They have to put gas in the boss’s car, get his coffee, buy the presents for his wife and mistress. So when we came to do the film, we said to Colin [Higgins], OK, what you have to do is write a screenplay which shows you can run an office without a boss, but you can’t run an office without the secretaries!
Click HERE for where to watch
“Friends are the family we choose ourselves” – Anonymous
The International Day of Friendship was proclaimed in 2011 by the UN General Assembly with the idea that friendship between peoples, countries, cultures and individuals can inspire peace efforts and build bridges between communities.
The resolution places emphasis on involving young people, as future leaders, in community activities that include different cultures and promote international understanding and respect for diversity.
To mark the International Day of Friendship the UN encourages governments, international organizations and civil society groups to hold events, activities and initiatives that contribute to the efforts of the international community towards promoting a dialogue among civilizations, solidarity, mutual understanding and reconciliation.
The International Day of Friendship is an initiative that follows on the proposal made by UNESCO defining the Culture of Peace as a set of values, attitudes and behaviours that reject violence and endeavour to prevent conflicts by addressing their root causes with a view to solving problems. It was then adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1997.
#internationalfriendshipday #friendshipday #friends #friendship #friendshipgoals #love #friendshipquotes #happyfriendshipday
‘Writing With Fire’ follows a brave band of women journalists working in a environment that would seem impossible to even the most battle-hardened war reporter. Fighting a system that is not built to support or protect them, they risk their reputations (and the reputations of their families) and their lives (40 journalists have been killed in India in the last 5 years) in the dogged pursuit of truth and justice for the powerless and voiceless in their communities.
From morning till midnight, journalists for Khabar Lahariya – India’s only women-run brand of ethical and independent rural news (a powerful local watchdog – an instrument for enforcing robust grassroots governance and accountability) confront corrupt police, shady politicians, rapists, murderers and the mining mafia, at great personal risk to themselves and their loved ones. Watching them go about their working day is both terrifying and inspiring.
These women are the change we want to see in the world, and they, and this film, deserve (and need) to be seen .
These women are the change we want to see in the world, and they, and this film deserve (and need) to be seen by all.
se women are the change we want to see in the world, and they, and this film deserve (and need) to be seen by all.
Directed by
Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh
Writing With Fire tells the story of Khabar Lahariya: India’s only newspaper run by Dalit women. Adrift in a cluttered news landscape dominated by men, Chief Reporter Meera and her tight-knit team of journalists – armed with just their smartphones – break traditions both on the frontlines and within the confines of their own homes, redefining what it means to be powerful and challenging the gender roles they find themselves tethered to.
“Thomas and Ghosh have found their angle, and it’s a powerful one.” Vox
These women are the change we want to see in the world, and they, and this film deserve (and need) to be seen by all.
“Insightful and inspirational.” Hollywood Reporter
These women are the change we want to see in the world, and they, and this film deserve (and need) to be seen by all.
“The result is profound: Thrown into the thick of it, we are keenly aware of what’s on the line…” IndieWire
Writing With Fire – 2021 Sundance Film Festival
Writing With Fire. Audience Award: World Cinema Documentary. World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award: Impact for Change.
Trailer just launched too HERE
Subtitles for the hard of hearing
@writingwithfire
SUBSCRIBE NOW TO KHABAR LAHARIYA
Reaching five million people a month through multiple digital platforms
Running from the 24th of July to the 8th of August, to take advantage of the tides, National Marine Week is a chance to celebrate the wonderful wildlife found in the seas around the UK, and our relationship with this incredible habitat that surrounds us.
Wildlife Trusts around the UK will be holding sea-themed events, from snorkelling through the waters of Wembury Bay in Devon, to exploring the rockpools of Yorkshire’s Boggle Hole on a seashore safari, or even picnicking with a porpoise on the clifftops of North Wales.
No matter where you are in the UK, there’s plenty to celebrate: our seas are home to over half of all our wildlife (more than 30,000 species), contribute to flood management and water purification, and provide the oxygen for every other breath you take!
And remember, in the UK you’re never more than 70 miles from the sea.
Learn more about events and how you can get involved on National Marine Week page HERE
Directed by Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed
After years of swimming every day in the freezing ocean at the tip of Africa, Craig Foster meets an unlikely teacher: a young octopus who displays remarkable curiosity. Visiting her den and tracking her movements for months on end he eventually wins the animal’s trust and they develop a never-before-seen bond between human and wild animal.
CLICK HERE FOR WHERE TO WATCH
