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.
Updated: May 11, 2023
Birds’ Eye View is seeking to contract regional freelance Impact Producers to work with us on our mission to champion films by women & non-binary people.
The appointed individual will creatively input and effectively deliver local outreach activity and events in select cities as part of our Reclaim the Frame project. You will be passionate about community building and about using communications to further the conversations presented by the films we support.
We are looking to appoint one Impact Producer in each of the following areas:
Leeds or Sheffield
Manchester (with links to Liverpool / Chester )
Plymouth or Exeter
Glasgow or Edinburgh
Brighton
Look out for calls for applications for Impact Producer opportunities in other cities to come!
The Role
Contract: Freelance, fixed term
Days: 2-3 days per month, worked flexibly throughout the month
Tenure: 9-month contract, June 2022-March 2023
Location(s): as above
Fee: £150 per day, up to £450 per month
Deadline to apply is Monday 9 May at 10am
BRIEF FOR A COMMISSIONED ARTICLE
The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson
By Leah Purcell
Deadline for pitch: midday on Wednesday 4 May 2022
RECLAIM THE FRAME X THE DROVER’S WIFE: THE LEGEND OF MOLLY JOHNSON
“I was brought up by storytellers, within a culture where the tradition of storytelling is passed down and histories are heard from the Black experience, not from white-
washed history books.” – Leah Purcell
We would like to invite a written response to THE DROVER’S WIFE: THE LEGEND OF MOLLY JOHNSON (directed by Leah Purcell) from an early career (of any age) UK based film writer / curator / critic / poet.
Your article will be a reflexive and creative response to the film, or take the form of an opinion piece, incorporating in some way a short review.
This the first Australian feature film with an Indigenous woman writing, directing and performing the lead role, THE DROVER’S WIFE: THE LEGEND OF MOLLY JOHNSON brings a powerful female gaze to the (traditionally male) Western. Expressing what it means to be black, Purcell casts an eye on feminist, Indigenous and First Nation issues, through a narrative which has at its core a story of love, protection and the survival of family.
We’re looking for fresh perspectives on the film through a Black and Indigenous lens and invite those with this lived experience to explore how they may answer the brief.
We don’t want to sanctify the work, but need to be mindful that this activity is supporting the release of the film.
THE DROVER’S WIFE: THE LEGEND OF MOLLY JOHNSON
In 1893, heavily pregnant Molly Johnson (Leah Purcell) and her children struggle to survive the harsh Australian landscape after her husband leaves to drove sheep in the high country. One day, she finds escaped Indigenous Australian convict (Rob Collins) wounded on her property and an unlikely bond begins to form between them. Meanwhile, new town lawman Nate Clintoff realises that Molly’s husband is missing and sends his constable to investigate. A thrilling tale that explores racism and misogyny under colonial rule, and a labour of love for Purcell, who has also adapted Henry Lawson’s short story into a play and a novel.
More information: https://www.modernfilms.com/droverswife / https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=st6sN1jAN7w
Bringing with it the mythology of generational Aboriginal storytelling, the film is inspired by Purcell’s personal stories and incorporates her own lived experience and those of her ancestors. A proud Goa-Gungarri-Wakka Wakka Murri woman from Queensland, Australia, Purcell is an internationally acclaimed playwright, screenwriter, director, novelist and actor and a cultural icon and activist. Her work stands at the forefront of the Black and Indigenous cultural renaissance and protest movement sweeping Australia and the world.
Now in its 18th year, BIRDS’ EYE VIEW continues to spotlight, celebrate and create impact for films by women and non-binary people while building a community for those who make, show, release and watch them.
Reclaim the Frame brings a wider perspective of the world by championing cinema by women & non-binary filmmakers. Run by Birds’ Eye View, a charity with a mission to advocate for equity, diversity, and inclusion in film by fostering a community for those who make, show, release and watch them.
Find out more about the project HERE.
Details
Writer Fee: £150
This is to include a short review as part of a wider feature
Applicants will be UK based film writers / curators / critics and will deliver the finished work to Birds’ Eye View by the deadline below.
Timeline
Deadline for applications: 4pm on Wednesday 4 May 2022
Successful applicant notified by: Thursday 5 May 2022
Date for the article to be delivered will be no later than 10am Wednesday 11 May 2022
Date for publication no later than Thursday 12 May 2022
To apply
To apply please send the following to Birds’ Eye View – mail@birds-eye-view.co.uk with the subject heading Birds’ Eye View x The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson.
Proposal (max 1 A4 page) including what you would like to do, how it engages with the brief, examples of past writing together with the lived experience you bring to your work, how you intend to create and deliver your idea along with a link to your portfolio/cv, website and social media handles.
Notes to Applicants:
Engaging creative and representative individuals is a vital part of the RECLAIM THE FRAME project. We are therefore committed to ensuring the best candidates are appointed for this project, we welcome and encourage applications from individuals from all backgrounds, including under-represented groups.
Reclaim The Frame is funded by the BFI, awarding funds from The National Lottery.
Updated: May 11, 2023
By Yasmin Jenoui
Laura Wandel’s harrowing feature debut Playground is an immersive and poignant exploration into the confusion and violence of childhood. Shot at the eye level of 7 year old protagonist Nora (Maya Vanderbeque), we’re taken on a compelling journey into innocence lost, as Nora attempts to navigate life at a new school where her brother Abel (Gunter Duret) is being brutally bullied.
Desperate to protect her brother, Nora goes against his wishes and attempts to seek help and safety in the adults. However, she quickly learns that no one is coming to the rescue, especially not her struggling father (Karim Leklou), and often “helping only makes it worse”. Wandel expertly avoids overly sensational depictions of bullying, and instead, the film’s jarring nature lies in the silent, yet relentless, emotional turmoil experienced by the children. Here, the familiar confines of a school playground serves as a microcosm of a cruel and unjust world.
The invisible antagonist of the film is the abstract concept of violence itself; its continually shifting forms and cyclical nature. Nora helplessly plays witness to the physical violence her brother endures, but in part, the real offence lies in its institutional roots. Frederic Noirhomme’s cinematography – with its gritty lensing, grey-blue wash, and cold realism – draws Foucauldian Comparisons to the bleak, hard aesthetic of a prison drama. The indifference of those in power, the domino effects of austerity, and the politics of exploitation are hugely complex themes to filter through the eyes of a child, but this bold choice serves to highlight the ways in which the culture of violence trickles down from the adult ‘real’ world to the school playgrounds. Nora’s father’s unemployment is used as a means to alienate her by her peers, and even amongst adults he has no power to help Abel’s situation. The school’s feeble, bureaucratic response to violence can almost be read as indifference. The children are left to their own devices, and notions of punishment, redemption, and survival become blurred, fuelling the cycle of violence further. School becomes a place of disciplining the mind and body, and in adopting these very adult lessons of power and oppression, the children create their own curriculum on the playground.
What’s most unnerving, is violence’s poisonous ability to defile even the most sacred bond between brother and sister, and purest of hearts. With her reputation tainted, morals compromised, and pleas ignored, Nora becomes resentful towards Abel, and starts acting out against him. Nora shifts her focus on prioritising her position amongst the other children, performing superficial tasks to get invited to an upcoming birthday party and even outrightly denouncing her brother. However, Wandel takes care not to point blame, her inquiring lens is one of compassion not accusation. Even the adult characters are not framed as bad people, merely detached, powerless to intervene, and well versed in the inevitably of oppression. Other than Nora’s protective father, the only adult to spend more than a moment in Nora’s world (and in frame) is her sympathetic teacher Agnes (Laura Verlinden), but even she could offer no real solace or resolve, only to say ‘sometimes we don’t know what to do’.
Vanderbeque gives what could be one of the most powerful child-performances to date, her face an open canvas, every slight glance loaded with emotion. The camera’s uncomfortably close proximity evokes a real sense of claustrophobia, and perfectly illustrates the world closing in on a child coming into consciousness. No other perspective can intrude, and as Nora’s faith in adults and authority withers, we witness her arrive to the harsh realisation that violence is inescapable.
As matters escalate, and Abel himself becomes the perpetrator of schoolyard cruelty, Nora’s old soul recognises the urgency of intervention, and she takes matters into her own hands. In the poignant ending scene, as Abel gets ready to administer a harsh blow to his victim, Nora runs up and hugs him tightly in an act of love. Abel freezes, abandons violence, and desperately hugs Nora back. For such a small child, Nora carries an immensely heavy emotional weight throughout the film, though in the end, her strength and compassion proves to be paramount. Wandel leaves us with a hopeful message, that love trumps all, even the relentless continuum of violence.
Yasmin Jenoui (She/her)
Birds Eye View Project Assistant
Yasmin graduated from Goldsmiths with a Media and Communications BA in which she specialised in film and screenwriting. She’s since gained experience working in scripted development, industry research, and film exhibition. Sharing thought-provoking and original stories is what fuels her creative ambition, and she especially prides herself on prioritising fair, accurate, and inclusive representation.
