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.
A Reflection on Accessible Cinema for Deaf Audiences
Our Access Consultant Charlie Little reflects on the current
landscape for Deaf inclusion within film exhibition.
Critically and commercially acclaimed films such as the A Quiet Place franchise, Sound of Metal, and Sian Heder’s Best Picture winner CODA have catalysed a shift in the visibility of Deaf talent within mainstream and independent cinema, going on to spark conversations about Deaf audiences’ access to films and cinemas outside of Deaf-centric screen stories.
With that said, the beginning of 2023 had already been met with prominent examples of festival and cinema inaccessibility for Deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences. Most notably, the U.S. Dramatic Competition Jury for Sundance Film Festival leaving a premiere due to an access failure.
Last year, during Deaf Awareness Week, RNID (Royal National Institute for Deaf People) announced they were no longer working with the UK Cinema Association to improve accessible cinema due to the UKCA’s lack of meaningful engagement during their partnership.
Published in an open letter, the charity’s associate director for inclusion, Teri Devine, said that: “At times, commitment to this work has felt shallow and tokenistic, and we believe we can make more progress for our communities by working directly with cinemas.”
During the same week, some criticised the UKCA due to their misguided promotion of increased subtitled screenings in cinemas across the UK, a minor increase that lasted one week and one week only. Towards the end of last year, Empire, ODEON, Vue, and Cineworld stated they would commit to at least one subtitled screening at their cinemas for National Cinema Day. The National Deaf Children’s Society commented that this was: “nothing more than a drop in the ocean”.
I saw the provision of one descriptive subtitled* screening per day as the bare minimum, and this practice, only being applied to one significant date, was treading on the lines of virtue-signalling. Deaf audiences and those who rely on descriptive subtitles struggle to experience cinema on a daily basis, so this announcement held no long-lasting, meaningful impact towards reliable and frequent cinema provisions for these audiences.
The provision of descriptive subtitled screenings varies throughout the UK. I’ve been fortunate to have lived near independent cinemas that provided regular accessible screenings, but I wasn’t ever able to see many mainstream releases as my local chain cinemas didn’t schedule accessible screenings.
I specialise in disability and accessibility consultancy within film exhibition, providing consultation services on behalf of film exhibitor and access provider Matchbox Cine. For the past year, I’ve worked as an Access Consultant at Reclaim The Frame, where we work with an array of distributors and partner venues. This role has enabled me to better understand the landscape of accessibility within the UK film exhibition sector, as I’ve been able to observe the spectrum of access knowledge and provision that differs from region to region. I also recognise that cinemas, festivals, and distributors are experiencing different stages of their “accessibility journeys”, so I feel somewhat confident in the very slow but sure steps towards standardised access as I have a “behind the scenes” insight.
On the other hand, if you’re an audience member with access needs, then the insights and reassurances I have gained aren’t relevant because one’s locality to cinemas and their commitment to accessibility is what ultimately affects your experience of cinema and your perception of “the cinema” as a whole. The accessible screenings that I have been able to attend at multiplex cinemas have often been wrought with stress after having encountered numerous occasions where the film would start playing without the descriptive subtitles on, and the staff would struggle to resolve the issue and therefore opt to continue the screening without descriptive subtitles despite its advertisement as an accessible showing. I would get offered a refund, free snacks, and a drink perhaps. Because this has happened again and again, I’ve lost trust in these cinemas. It wasn’t taken into account that I had made the journey there and that this was likely the only scheduled accessible screening for that movie. It’s a very deflating experience. Other times, I’ve been to screenings where audience members didn’t realise it was a descriptive subtitled showing, and they would make complaints and demand that the film be played without. During these scenarios, it quickly becomes a self-conscious experience. As a deaf person who cannot watch films without descriptive subtitles, it’s a horrible, sinking feeling to sit with when customers are demanding that the film continues without, and staff aren’t given the training or tools to handle these situations.
Living in Aberdeen and Edinburgh meant that I could rely on Belmont Filmhouse and Edinburgh Filmhouse; two cinemas with access initiatives and a dependable provision of accessible screenings. I was devastated hearing the news of their sudden closures, and I quickly felt the gaping hole they had left behind. Due to my sight loss, I didn’t feel comfortable enough to visit other cinemas alone. I also quickly and viscerally realised how few other descriptive subtitled screenings there were in those cities despite multiple chain cinemas.
A few months ago, BBC’s Newsround reported that “more needs to be done for deaf audiences."
Dan, a young deaf film fan, recorded a week’s worth of descriptive subtitled screenings for Marvel’s Black Adam. Of the three major cinemas in Cardiff, Vue had 30 screenings Monday to Thursday. Only 1 had descriptive subtitles. Of Cineworld's 64 screenings, 2 were descriptive subtitled. Odeon had 76 screenings, with two descriptive subtitled screenings; neither of which were at the weekend.
Earlier this year, the jurors for Sundance Film Festival’s U.S. Dramatic Competition left the premiere of Magazine Dreams as the festival failed to provide captioning for audience members - including juror Marlee Matlin. Members collectively decided to leave the screening after expressing concerns about the festival’s accessibility after several calls for open captioned screenings. Matlin was provided with a malfunctioning close captioning device. The jury has since published an open letter, and the stand shown by the fellow jurors has garnered widespread coverage.
Although the festival’s failures around access are deeply disappointing, the shows of support, solidarity, and disability alliance have evoked feelings of empowerment from myself and others. These displays of anti-inaccessibility attitudes are vital and substantial in their contributions towards accessible cinema practices. My hope is that the visibility of this access failure motivates audiences and those within the industry to be vocal and demonstrate their allyship for accessibility. This can’t be a fleeting moment, there has to be a continuous assessment and valued consideration of access across all elements and departments of film exhibition and production.
In the run-up to the 95th edition of the Academy Awards, it was announced that American Sign Language interpreters would be present for the first time ever on the red carpet. This newly introduced measure was part of a wider set of access provisions to both the ceremony and live telecast, advised by the Academy’s newly launched disability affinity group. There was also audio description for the red carpet and continued ramp access. An access guide was sent out to the press in attendance, encouraging accessible pre-show coverage. In the theatre, there were assistive listening devices, video packages with captions, all-gender accessible bathrooms, and a digital programme accessible for assistive technologies such as screen readers. Some may say this is too little, too late (especially given that the first award given to a Deaf actor was in 1987!), but the visibility of this provision is hugely significant and will hopefully be adopted by the wider sector in everyday practices as part of a collective movement towards genuine access and inclusion.
So, what now?
There must be collective and collaborative efforts and proactive actions towards the standardised, uniform provision of high-quality, accessible screenings, which must be accompanied by thoughtful marketing and outreach. We also have to prioritise a holistic approach, which means considering the accessibility of all elements that may be involved in a film screening, including but not limited to: live elements such as introductions and Q&As, promotional assets such as trailers, social media, and venues.
Even if accessible screenings are available, it’s much rarer to come across screenings with live, enhanced activities (such as director Q&As) with access provisions available, such as live-captioning and BSL (British Sign Language) interpretation. With our Reclaim The Frame activities, we have acknowledged that screenings with live elements cannot be considered accessible if live captioning isn’t available, even if we’ve shown the film with descriptive subtitles, because we would still be excluding a potential audience from the full event. An event can’t only have partial access provision as this negates the intention and purpose of access to film exhibition beyond the running time of a film screening. Access is intended to create as equal an experience as possible, and this extends beyond the film screening portion, ergo using a holistic approach to access. We are working towards standardising the provision of live captioning for our live events and working with our partners and exhibitors to adopt this practice. We also emphasise the importance of accessible trailers and make a conscious effort to talk to distributors about access materials as early as possible to demonstrate the demand and value we hold for these files (and, therefore, those audiences).
The Deaf and hard-of-hearing community are a vast spectrum of individual experiences and access needs. Not every Deaf person uses sign language, and there are BSL users whose second language is English, so you can’t choose live captioning or BSL interpretation over one another without potentially excluding a part of the Deaf audience, as deafness is not synonymous with sign language.
Understanding the difference between descriptive subtitles and English language subtitles and standardising the terminology around access materials holds value. Exhibitors can demonstrate the demand for access materials by enquiring about the availability of these files with distributors. Developed by Matchbox Cine, Sidecard is an online database that catalogues details about access materials, making it easier for people to find out if a title has audio description and/or descriptive subtitles that they can potentially use for an accessible screening.
As both an access consultant and a disabled person, I’m still learning every day, and I don’t speak for every disabled or Deaf person.
At Reclaim The Frame, we aim to present the films we support with descriptive subtitles and we frequently commission access materials for films that don’t have these materials available (where turnarounds allow), but it’s crucial that access isn’t an element that’s only considered at the exhibition stage in a film's lifecycle. The creation of access files and consideration for other access provisions has to be in development at a much earlier point. It’s imperative that exhibitors make use of existing access materials as part of efforts to standardise accessible exhibition practices in an impactful and sustainable way by making sure access files have a legacy and continued use so these films can reach the widest audience possible.
By taking a holistic and consultation-based approach, it is imperative to form partnerships with Deaf and disabled consultants and audiences if we are to authentically and impactfully improve access and inclusion practices. We also must consider programming and curation with care and thoughtfulness, bringing in underrepresented voices and perspectives that can change the narrative.
Although it’s Deaf Awareness Week, the industry’s commitment towards Deaf access should be daily and event-to-event, screening-to-screening. There shouldn’t be a swell or momentum but rather an ongoing, continuous effort towards embedded, defaulted accessible and inclusive practices.
*Descriptive subtitles, sometimes referred to as SDH (subtitles for Deaf and hard-of-hearing), HoH (hard-of-hearing), and captions, transcribe dialogue (e.g. for English-speaking audiences, both English and any other languages) and relevant aspects of the soundtrack, including music and sound effects, attempting to give viewers an equal experience to those who are able to watch films without descriptive subtitles. Descriptive subtitles would include speech identifiers and descriptive elements such as [door slamming] and [kettle whistling]. See this link to learn more about terminology around access materials.
The Equilibrium Between Water, Earth, and Everything in Between.
A curated online programme for Earth Day 2023
From
Leah Park, Maya Lambert, Chloe Miller and Rokhaya Thioub
This programme will take you on a journey through an intergenerational Black and Indigenous lens that jumps between present, past, and future to discover the equilibrium between water, earth, and everything in between.
We start our water journey with Asha, from Pumzi (2009) directed by Wanuri Kahiu, to see into the future the effects of extreme water deficiency after World War III, The Water War. We then reach back into the past with Sebastián Calfuqueo in Kowkülen (2020) to learn about water commodification in Chile and listen to the cold water speak to us.
Moving to the freezing water of Angry Inuk (2012), directed by Alethea Arnaquq-Barilwhen, we learn about the dangers of activism when certain voices are ignored. We close the water section to witness the effects of extreme weather and human-made obstacles through the eyes of a child in Beasts of The Southern Wild (2012). Co-written by Lucy Ailbar, this is a film that reinforces the message that we all exist in this perfect balance and are part of the pieces of the puzzle that is the universe.
In the earth section, the equilibrium messages still stand strong. We open with Kiss the Ground, written by Rebecca Harrell Tickell, a documentary explaining how every living being contributes positively to the growth of all organic life. It argues this by exposing the dangers of using chemicals in farming, which can strip the Earth of its mantle. We continue with Daughters of The Dust (1991) directed and written by Julie Dash, to focus on the story of a generational split of formerly-enslaved people in the Gullah community of coastal South Carolina. The film explores the discord between holding on to past traditions and the desire to move on into ‘civilization’. FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992), co-written by Diana Young, is an animation for the enjoyment of adults and children alike that has an important intergenerational message about the future of the rainforest. We conclude with this love letter to the planet, The Peace of Wild Things (2020) directed and animated by Katy Wang, highlighting the bond between nature and humans and their capacity to rebuild.
Pumzi (South Africa; Kenya, 2009, 23 mins)
Directed by Wanuri Kahiu
Pumzi is an afrofuturistic short film exploring the world 35 years after WWIII: The Water War. Asha’s community is extremely strict with its water and energy production. Even urine and sweat are purified and reused, and citizens are allowed only a small amount of water per day. Asha is the curator of The Natural History Museum. While working, she has a dream about a healthy tree and water, however, the machine promptly asks her to take a dream suppressant. Asha receives soil from an anonymous source and finds out it’s healthy. She embarks on a journey of discovery and restoration.
Kowkulen (Chile, 2020, 3.5mins)
Directed by Sebastian Calfuqueo
Kowkulen translates to “liquid being”, from Mapudungun. This short highlights the 1981 Water Code which describes the water in Chile as a marketable good. Directed by Sebastian Calfuqueo, they address the topics of the body, binarism, gender, sexuality, and the historical relationship between water and life. Calfuqueo uses this work to reflect on the nonbinary Mapuche identity and the non-binary way of inhabiting within nature, shown through the blue rope tied around their body.
Angry Inuk (Canada, 2016, 85 mins)
Directed by Alethea Arnaquq-Baril
Angry Inuk is a 2016 Canadian Inuit-themed feature-length documentary film written and directed by Alethea Arnaquq-Baril that defends the Inuit seal hunt. The documentary shows how important it is to hear everyone's voice as an activist, and not believe everything multi-million associations feed you. Otherwise, there’s a risk of ruining entire communities. Seal hunting has been demonized for decades leading to a market crash that greatly negatively impacted Inuit communities. It lead to famine and suicide, despite the supposed protection given by the law. After years of rebuilding, another campaign threatens to crash their economy again. Angry Inuk follows the journey of this campaign, led by Inuit adults and youth, to establish international and national protections for Inuit seal hunters so that they can secure income and care for the land in a traditional and efficient manner. It also shows that their hunting is sustainable, unlike how it's depicted by animal rights activists.
Kiss The Ground (US, 2020, 84 mins)
Directed by Rebecca Harrell Tickell, Josh Tickell
Written by Rebecca Harrell Tickell, Josh Tickell and Johnny O’Hara
Kiss The Ground is a 2020 American feature length documentary written and directed by Rebecca Harrell Tickell and Joshua Tickell, narrated by Woody Harrelson. It shows how we can help stop our ever-growing climate crisis through changing the way we farm.
The breakthrough documentary reveals that by regenerating our soil we can stabilize the climate, reduce global emissions and even restore lost ecosystems. The film features celebrity activists, scientists and farmers that come together to form a global movement around regenerative agriculture and to encourage others to join the cause. In a way the film educates the audience about what they can do to help and comes up with different solutions that a range of people can try, whether it be other farmers who have access to fields and machinery or a family that can turn to composting excess food waste. We need to save our Earth and soil regeneration might be the way forward.
Daughters of the Dust (US, 1991, 112 mins)
Directed and Written by Julie Dash
Daughters of the Dust is a 1991 American German independent film written and directed by Julie Dash. The film gives the audience insight into three generations of Gullah women who live on St. Helena Island in South Carolina. The Gullah community is struggling to maintain their cultural heritage and contemplates making the decision to migrate to the North, away from their roots. Daughters of the Dust was the first film directed by a Black woman to receive nationwide theatrical release in America. The film first premiered in New York in 1991 and ran for four months straight with venues selling out on weekends. One of the many themes throughout the film shows how to grow and move on from trauma instead of letting it define who they are as a person. This theme is shown through one of the characters called Eula who faces trauma in her life and is told to embrace it as part of her story.
Beasts of the Southern Wild (US, 2012, 93 mins)
Directed by Benh Zeitlin
Written by Benh Zeitlin and Lucy Alibar
Beasts of the Southern Wild is written by Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin, who also directed the American fantasy drama. Raised in a wilderness community by her father, Wink, six-year-old Hushpuppy is forced to look outwards when her world begins to crumble. Hushpuppy ventures to search for her mother, whilst prehistoric creatures slowly trek towards her. The exceptional visuals of this film capture the beauty of Hushpuppy’s world, internally and externally, as she battles through the Earth, her resilience carrying her on when her father falls ill sees her exceed the boundaries of what she knows. Quvenzhané Wallis’ performance captures the youthful strength of Hushpuppy and the animalistic relationship between her father and outlook on the world. A beautiful film about human emotion, community and the environment.
FernGully: The Last Rainforest (US, 1992, 74 mins)
Directed by Bill Kroyer
Written by Diana Young and Jim Cox
FernGully: The Last Rainforest is an adventure cartoon written by Diana Young and Jim Cox and directed by Bill Kroyer. Within the vibrant Australian rainforest, FernGully sprite Crysta, shrinks human lumberjack boy, Zak. He promises to help save the rainforest from being inhabited by a logging company. Unintentionally, Zak releases an evil spirit, Hexxus, who’s incentive is to destroy FernGully. On a whimsical adventure to save the rainforest from the polluting force of destruction, Zak learns the importance of deforestation and the need to save the rainforest.
The Peace of Wild Things (US, 2020, 1 min)
Directed and Animated by Katy Wang
The Peace of Wild Things is a visual poem directed and animated by Katy Wang and illustrated by Charlotte Ager. It tells the journey of a man finding peace through nature as Wendell Berry narrates his poem, ‘The Peace of Wild Things’. The short animation embraces the beauty of nature with images of forests, wildlife and bodies of water whilst also bringing awareness to how troubled our planet is, and how we should live in the present despite the chaos in humanity.
From left to right: Leah Park, Maya Lambert, Chloe Miller and Rokhaya Thioub.
We are a group of final-year Film Studies & Screenwriting students at Sheffield Hallam University, passionate about films and fascinated by the influence they have on people.
Updated: May 10, 2023
By Delphine Lievens (She/ They)
When this year’s BAFTA longlists were released, many had hoped to see Sarah Polley and her film Women Talking among the nominees. However, in a deeply ironic move, the film had been long-listed for just one award – a Supporting Actor nod for male cast member
Ben Wishaw.
To those who follow the ebbs and flows of awards season year after year, this sort of irony is to be expected. When tracking the diversity across awards nominees there is never a straight line of improvement, more of a case of one step forward and two steps back, with women and POC (people of colour) continually missing out to their white, male counterparts. After all, following Moonlight’s landmark Best Picture win, two years later the same award was given to Green Book. The films share an actor in the form of the incredible Mahershala Ali, but that is where the similarities end, with one film giving a far more authentic representation of Black lives in America than the other.
Women Talking was not the only ‘snub’ of this year’s awards season. The most prominent headline has been Andrea Riseborough’s surprise Best Actress nomination at the Oscars, a move that many think has pushed both Viola Davis (for Wakanda Forever) and Danielle Deadwyler (for Till) out of contention. There are three POC in the ‘Supporting’ categories, although Dolly De Leon whom many hoped would receive a nomination for Triangle of Sadness is absent. Frequently across the Oscars and BAFTAs, POC are under-represented in the Best Actor and Actress categories, and only allowed to reach the heights of the ‘Supporting’ category instead. A WOC (woman of colour) hasn’t won a Lead Actress Oscar since Halle Berry’s landmark win over 20 years ago and at the BAFTAs no WOC has ever taken home the Best Actress award. However, the BAFTAs does feature both Viola Davis and Danielle Deadwyler as nominees in this year’s category, alongside Michelle Yeoh.
As noted, the Supporting Actress categories often fare better, with half of the winners of the Oscars category in the past 10 years being WOC: Ariana DeBose, Youn-Yuh Jung, Regina King, Viola Davis and Lupita Nyong’o. Amongst the Best Supporting Actors, Mahershela Ali won Best Supporting Actor twice, the first Black Muslim man to take home the award. He joined Daniel Kaluuya as the only POC winners in the past 10 years. Will Smith was the only POC to take home the Lead Actor win.
At the BAFTAs, Hong Chau and Dolly De Leon both received nods in the Supporting category this year, although in a step down from the diversity shown across the pond, only three WOC have taken home the award in the past 10 years. Actors fared slightly better than at the Oscars, Barkhad Abdi joins Daniel Kaluuya and Mahershali Ali as the only POC to have won the Best Supporting Actor award in the past 10 years, whilst Chiwitel Ejiofor and Will Smith are the only POC winners of the Best Actor category.
As is often the case, at this year’s Oscars women were also noticeably absent from the Best Director category, despite Women Talking receiving a nod for Best Picture. With Best Director featuring only 5 nominees, and Best Picture allowing up to 10, female directors are almost always the ones who drop from the list. Only 2 women have won the Best Director award at the Oscars in the past 10 years, at the two most recent ceremonies where Jane Campion and Chloe Zhao were winners. Yet, in a demonstration of the “one step forward, two steps back” approach to diversity, this year we’re back to an all male field of nominees.
This is not a direct result of a lack of potential nominees either. In a history-making move, BAFTA has nominated Gina Prince Bythewood in their Best Director category this year for her film The Woman King, the first WOC to ever receive a nomination. Until 2020, there was a noticeable absence of women nominated in this category at all, with only Kathryn Bigelow and Lynne Ramsay nominated in the years between 2010-2020. With 3 female nominees at the 2021 awards and one woman in the category both this year and last year, the BAFTAs are showing some progress, albeit again inconsistent. Whilst female directors are totally absent from the Best Film nominations at this year’s BAFTAs, there are 3 represented in the nominations for the Outstanding British film category: Charlotte Wells’ Aftersun, Sally El Hosaini’s The Swimmers and Sophie Hyde’s Good Luck to You Leo Grande.
The past 10 years have also seen 3 POC winners of Best Director at the Oscars, but intriguingly, they all have East Asian heritage: Chloe Zhao, Bong Joon Ho and Ang Lee. Chloe Zhao was of course the first ever WOC to win in 2021 for Nomadland, in the same year she made history as the first ever WOC nominee in the category too. However, East Asians are often incredibly under-represented across the acting categories, receiving a much needed boost this year thanks to the inclusion of Everything Everywhere All At Once among the nominees. Ke Huy Quan and Stephanie Hsu both received nominations in the Supporting categories, whilst Michelle Yeoh was another history maker, the first ever East Asian actress to be nominated in the Best Actress category. At the BAFTAs, Chloe Zhao is the first and only WOC and POC to have received a Best Director win.
The Oscars have been vocal about the changes to their voting body in recent years. In 2016, the voting body was 92% white, and 75% male. Since then, they have worked to invite new members to redress this balance. In 2021, 46% were female and 39% came from ethnic minority backgrounds. In addition they have announced guidelines that mean that films will need to meet new diversity standards to be nominated for the Best Picture category from 2024 onwards.
Meanwhile BAFTA CEO Jane Milichip has defended the diversity of the 2023 nominations stating it’s ‘a great year for diversity and breadth of nominations’, pointing to the 40% representation of POC across acting categories, as well as the breadth of female directors represented in nominations outside the Best Director category.
This scattergun approach to diversity and inclusion across both the BAFTAs and the Oscars can leave many film fans and those working in the industry frustrated. With the films made by and featuring women and POC often receiving smaller releases and smaller awards campaigns, there are clearly sector-wide issues to be addressed. Furthermore, it leaves us questioning to what extent the implemented changes by awards bodies are actually making a lasting difference.
Delphine Lievens is a Freelance Distribution Consultant, Box Office Analyst, and advocate for diversity in film. Follow Delphine on Twitter @DelphiLievens
