Letter from Anna Serner to WIFT members

Following our open letter thanking Anna Serner for her decade-long work for gender equality, Anna has sent us a response, amongst others also drawing on the Swedish Film Institute’s latest Facts & Figures report. Their work is beyond inspiring, but also nowhere near finished as Anna humbly acknowledges.

Read the report here.

Dear WIFT members,

I am proud to present Facts & Figures 2020, our yearly report providing a comprehensive insight into film in Sweden today. As you know, 2020 was a very challenging year for all of us. It affected the whole industry, Sweden included. Still, when it comes to gender equality things looked brighter.

The share of Swedish feature-length fiction films with funding from our commissioners that were directed by a woman was at 64%, with the same percentage for films with a female producer, and films with a female screenwriter was at 57%. Also, Swedish feature films released in 2020 had as many female leads as male leads, and 59% of all the feature-length fiction films of last year passed the Bechdel test. With this said, there is still a lot of inequalities when we put our intersectional glasses on. Gender equality means equality for all women, disregarding skin colour, sexual orientation, age etc, and it should apply to all budgets and genres.

I am still overwhelmed and deeply touched by your letter following my notice of resignation a few weeks ago. Thank you again, and thanks for all the work you do – every day. As I’ve said to some of you, I will stick around for another six month and I hope our paths will cross many times before and after that.

Warmest regards,
Anna Serner
CEO, The Swedish Film Institute

WIFTI joined by 50 Organisations in Open Letter to Anna Serner

After 10 years as CEO of the Swedish Film Institute, Anna Serner has handed in her resignation on 27 April, 2021.

Women in Film & Television International is grateful for and proud of Anna’s work for gender equality and inclusion in the global film industry, and we wish to express our admiration with this open letter signed by 50 international film organisations.

Dear Anna,

Thank you for your decade long commitment and work towards inclusion in the global film industry. It’s impossible to overstate the importance of your work for gender equality. Since taking the helm of The Swedish Film Institute in 2011, you’ve been an unwavering force for women at all levels of the industry. With your passion, dedication and clarity, you’ve led by example, and given us all hope, encouragement and strength.

When 50/50 by 2020 was introduced in Cannes in 2016, it became a global rallying cry – heard by film institutes, festivals, studios, companies and organizations on all continents. Since then, the industry has taken strides, but we still have a long way to go. We won’t stop. We won’t quit.

We all wish you the best of luck with your next endeavor and hope that we will be working with you again in the future.

In gratitude.

Your friends,

Helene Granqvist, Women in Film and Television International

Inya Lawal, Women in Film & Television Africa

Katrina Graham, Women in Film & Television Australia

Rubaiyat Hossain, Women in Film & Television Bangladesh

Nagila Guimares, Women in Film & Television Brasil

Susan Brinton, Women in Film & Television Canada

Tsiako Abesadze, Women in Film & Television Caucasus

Li Dan, Women in Film & Television China

Petra Terzi, Women in Film & Television Cyprus

Malene Flindt Pedersen, Women in Film & Television Denmark

Eeva-Sofia Anttonen, Women in Film & Television Finland

Nicole Ackermann, Women in Film & Television Germany

Rea Wallden, Women in Film & Television Greece

Anna Sæunn Ólafsdóttir, Women in Film & Television Iceland

Petrina d’Rozario, Women in Film & Television India

Dr. Susan Liddy, Women in Film & Television Ireland

Domizia De Rosa, Women in Film, Television & Media Italia

Kirsten Schaffer, Women in Film LA

Eva Brazdžionytė, Women in Film & Television Lithuanian Chapter

Cynthia Lopez, New York Women in Film & Television

Patricia Watson, Women in Film & TV New Zealand

Ingebjørg Torgersen, WIFT-Norway

Gabriel Baur & Stéphane Mitchell, SWAN Swiss Women’s Audiovisual Network

Caroline Ortmark, Women in Film & Television Sweden

Melissa Houghton, Women in Film & Video Washington DC

Paula Vaccaro, ARTEF – Anti-Racism Taskforce for European Film

Julie-Jeanne Régnault, EFAD – Association of European Film Agencies

Franklin Leonard, The Black List

Dr. Emilia Zenzile Roig, Center for Intersectional Justice Berlin

Delphyne Besse & Laurence Lascary, Collectif 5050

Deborah Williams, Creative Diversity Network

Nanna Frank Rasmussen, Chair of Danish Film Critic Association

Brigid O’Shea & Marion Schmidt, Documentary Association of Europe

Alessia Sonaglioni, EWA Network

Matthijs Wouter Knol, European Film Academy

Dennis Ruh, European Film Market

Kate Kinninmont, The f Word Media Company

Effie T. Brown, Gamechanger Films

Anna Möttölä, Helsinki International Film Festival – Love & Anarchy

Marge Liiske, Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event

Anne Lajla Utsi, International Samí Film Institute

Gyda Velvin Myklebust, New Nordic Films Haugesund

Dögg Mósesdottír, Nordic Girls Shoot Iceland

Victoria Emslie, Primetime

T. Bhebhe, H. Currimbhoy, L. Mukerjee, P. Struthers, Programmers of Colour Collective

Stephanie Thogersen, Stockholm Feminist Film Festival

Tabitha Jackson & Keri Putnam, Sundance Institute

Dame Heather Rabbatts, TIME’S UP UK

Bérénice Vincent, Totem Films

Theo Lindberg, Trans and Non-binary Film Network

Bina Paul, Women in Cinema Collective

Melissa Silverstein, Women and Hollywood

Jan Miller, Women in View Canada