The Equality Tool, developed by WIFT Finland, was ceremoniously launched on May 31st 2024! The development of the automation-based reporting tool has been a long and thorough process, but it is all the more important for the advancement and monitoring of the audiovisual industry. With the tool creatives and production companies can generate an equality plan for an individual production, learning about their legal obligations, and expanding their knowledge about how to make more diverse content for more diverse audiences in the process. The tool helps measure equality in productions from script through production and post. Each step of the way The Equality Tool provides tips and best practices, for example, for recruiting and casting. It gives guidelines for safer workplaces and preventing harassment. For broadcasters, streamers and investors the tool can open eyes to new ways of doing better content and business and collect important statistical data about the equality of productions.

The launch event was opened by WIFT Finland’s current Executive Director, Reetta Ranta, with a speech on the development of equality and equity throughout history. WIFT Finland’s former Executive Director, lawyer Eeva-Sofia Anttonen, explained the legislation behind the tool’s creation and development. The event culminated in a panel discussion where major financiers of the Finnish film and TV industry shared their views and reflected on their roles in promoting equality and equity. The discussion was moderated by WIFT Finland’s Head of the Board, Professor Elina Knihtilä.

WIFT Finland is grateful to everyone who has supported them in the development of the Equality Tool and participated in this important discussion. Next, the work continues by adding the ability to collect statistical data into the tool. The Equality Tool is financed by the Finnish Film Foundation and the Ministry of Education and Culture, and developed in partnership with Audiovisual Producers Finland APFI, Helsinki Casting, Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle), AVEK Audiovisual Centre, Business Finland and numerous production companies. The interactive form used for the tool is provided by their partner M-Files.

The Equality Tool is only in Finnish for now, but WIFT Finland are happy to consult other WIFT chapters on how to get it implemented in various regions. For more information, contact their office at wift@wift.fi. Towards a more equal future!

IMAGE CREDIT: Veera Lamminpää
IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Major financiers of the Finnish film and TV industry gathered to discuss equality at the Finnish Film Foundation’s K-13 theatre during the launch event.

Networking event at the Munich Film Festival
Seidlvilla, Munich | June 30 2024 | 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. 

WIFT Germany is looking forward to a panel and the exchange at the Munich Film Festival!

The event is free for WIFT Germany and WIFTI members, all non-members can register for EUR €10.

Please contact info@wiftg.de for the discount code for WIFT members.

Register for the event here via Eventbrite.

Cologne | 02 – 05 July 2024
WIFT at SoundTrack_Cologne 21

As every year, WIFT Germany will once again be represented at SoundTrack_Cologne together with many female composers and speakers. WIFT is a collaborating partner of two events: the Female Film Composer Class and the Matchmaking for Women in Media and Music.

WIFT members benefit from a discount on festival accreditation.

Please contact info@wiftg.de for the discount code.

Further information can be found here on the SoundTrack_Cologne website.

Cologne | 04 – 06 July 2024
FEMALE FILM COMPOSER CLASS FOR WOMEN IN MEDIA MUSIC

 Only 6% of film composers working in German fiction TV from 2015-2022 were women, and just 11% of fiction TV in Europe was scored by women in 2022 according to the European Audiovisual Observatory in its latest study from 2024. To counter these figures, SoundTrack_Cologne is now hosting the Female Film Composer Class (FFCC) for the fourth time.

Cologne | 04 July 2024 | 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
MATCHMAKING FOR WOMEN IN MEDIA – SOUNDTRACK_COLOGNE 21

The Matchmaking for Women in Media & Music will connect female composers and sound designers with female directors, music consultants, publishers and producers. This Matchmaking event is organized in cooperation with WIFT Germany and AWFC during SOUNDTRACK_COLOGNE 21.

 For further information please click here. 

WIFT Greece hosted a Masterclass on Audition Techniques for TV and Film with Nancy Bishop, award-winning casting director and author of “Auditioning for Film and TV.” This offered an educational two-day Masterclass and marketing seminar for actors applying for roles in international productions.

For two days, Thursday 30 and Friday 31 May 2024 at the Greek Film Library, Nancy Bishop presented valuable techniques for video auditions – specifically self-taped auditions. Self-taped auditions are mandatory for actors in a post-Covid world. Actors participated in a pre-arranged mock audition and received feedback and advice from Nancy. Nancy also provided insight into improving technical acting and marketing skills as defined by the international audiovisual industry. The seminar focused on strategies for actors to promote themselves and secure work in the international market. Topics included how to use the internet for marketing, organizing a professional CV, choosing a successful photo, producing an effective showreel, recording auditions to send to production and using social media.

About Nancy Bishop

Nancy Bishop is an American award-winning casting director who has worked on over a hundred international projects. Based primarily in London, she has cast for major motion pictures including Mission Impossible IV, the Amazon TV series Greek Salad and Borat, the subsequent film, for which she won the CSA Artios Award for Best Comedy Casting. She has been teaching film acting master classes internationally for many years. In addition, Nancy founded the Acting for Film department at the Prague Film School. She is a founding member and past president of the European branch of the Casting Society of America and has written three books on audition techniques.

Join NYWIFT for the 2024 FinanceHER Institute at Film at Lincoln Center, a one-day conference to refine your business strategies.

Gain fresh insights from some of today’s leading experts in the industry and position your projects for optimum success. Hear from industry professionals who have successfully funded their projects and learn what greenlighters are looking for today.

Date: Wednesday, June 26, 2024

Time: 12:00 – 4:00pm ET

Location: Film at Lincoln Center, Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, Amphitheater (144 W. 65th Street)

Ticket Pricing: For NYWIFT Members: $45 / For Non-members: $75

Read more about the schedule, speakers, and registration here.  

ReFrame, the Sundance Institute and Women In Film partnership to advance gender equity in the screen industries, announced at Cannes on Friday it is expanding its programme recognising gender-balanced hiring on features in Canada, the UK, Ireland, India, and Australia, as announced in the exclusive by Screen Daily.

The ReFrame Stamp verifies feature productions that hire women or individuals from minority gender communities including trans, nonbinary, or gender-nonconforming individuals in at least 50% of key roles, above and below the line. The Stamp will be accessible to producers in the five countries starting in autumn when full international qualifying criteria will be released. Since launching in 2017 it has been awarded to more than 600 features in the US after review of credits on IMDbPro.

Director of international programmes for WIF LA, and former director of ReFrame, Andria Wilson Mirza, said: “Our industry is global, and our fight for fair and equitable representation for women, trans and nonbinary industry professionals is global too.”

Dr. Susan Liddy, president of Women in Film and Television International, said: “WIFTI works tirelessly across six continents to promote gender equality and diversity. ReFrame has a key role to play in that important work and I look forward to championing the initiative.”

The reception announcing the expansion featured a panel discussion involving Kara Durrett, founder of Pinky Promise Films and executive producer on Andrea Arnold’s Competition entry Bird; Filson Ali, Sweden-based producer and advocacy leader; Fawzia Mirza, Canadian-Pakistani filmmaker and director of The Queen Of My Dreams; Laura Sivis, Australia-based producer and founder of Courage Films; and Sarena Khan, SVP of Graphic India.

WIFTI President Dr. Susan Liddy delivered the opening remarks.

WIFT Germany Members’ Braunschweig International Film Festival is open for submissions! Current films can now be submitted for the 38th Braunschweig International Film Festival, which will take place from November 11th until 17th 2024. The BIFF is dedicated to up-and-coming European film, shows around 250 international feature and short films every year and awards a total of ten prizes.

Short films can be submitted until June 10th, and feature films until July 25th 2024.

All information regarding film submissions, rules & regulations and other deadlines can be found here.

As a member of Women in Film and Television International, members of WIFTI Chapters are eligible to receive a 30% discount off an IMDbPro Premium Subscription, which offers full access to the most powerful features for entertainment professionals to showcase themselves and get discovered. If you’re a WIFTI Chapter: email us for the code! Members: email your local or national WIFTI Chapter to get your code and redeem this offer!

Claim your IMDb page today to manage the display of your personal details, such as gender identity, pronouns and birth year, across IMDb and IMDbPro. Access the discount code by logging into your membership website. The discount can be applied to both monthly and annual memberships. This offer is limited to WIFTI members only and is non-transferable.

On 12 March 2024, Women in Film, Television & Media Italia elected the new Board of Directors! Among them, WIFTI Vice President Domizia de Rosa was re-elected as President.

Domizia shares her intentions and goals for the next term on the WIFTMI Board: “In this new mandate my objective is to consolidate both the work carried out in recent years by WIFTMI and the Association itself; create projects that, by making use of the treasure of accumulated knowledge, skills and questions, stimulate new writings, new visions and new professional opportunities; actively involve members and members; stimulate network growth in the regions. I believe the Association has a role to play within our industry and the potential to do so. So, let’s roll up our sleeves.”

You can read everyone’s vision statements here. 

This February at the Berlinale, WIFT Germany held a powerful series of talks titled “Between Escapism, Activism and Documentation – Filmmaking in Trembling Times”. These examined the world today, where there seem to be new crises emerging daily – war, climate change, flight and displacement, and the resurgence of the far-right. All too often, women are the ones who suffer the most.

In this podcast episode, WFT Ireland Member Gemma Creagh speaks with WIFT Germany and WIFTI Board Member and actor Mara Luka who talks about their vast chapter, the film industry in Germany, and WIFT’s close ties to the Berlinale Festival.

Then in a live recording from the event, outgoing Berlinale Executive Director Mariëtte Rissenbeek talks about WIFT’s relationship to the festival while Producer Zhang Fan from Bridging the Dragon discusses the film landscape in China.

This recording and podcast was made possible with the support of Coimisiún na Meán, WIFT Germany and the Berlinale.

Keep an eye out for part two where WFT Ireland Chair and WIFT International President Dr Susan Liddy speaks with Ukrainian Filmmaker Julia Sinkevych about an important study on Gender-Based Violence on German Television.

In the fourth installment of WFT Ireland’s Cannes Conversation Series, they look at the importance of sustainability. The future of the screen industry depends on consciously changing how we approach filming as well as telling stories that look at the world in a new way. At the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, WFT Ireland Member Gemma Creagh caught up with Ecoprod’s Alissa Aubenque, a producer and Green Film Production Expert about changes in production that can be made that make a real difference.

Following this, filmmaker and WFT member Maeve Stone speaks with producer, activist and former WIFTI President Helene Granqvist about the ins and outs of developing sustainable narratives and the intersectionality of activism and art.

This podcast has been made possible with the support of the Screen Ireland Stakeholder Fund.

About Helene Granqvist

Helene Granqvist is a prize-winning producer who has worked with film and television for more than 30 years. She studied Production Design at Statens Teaterskole (1984-1988) in Copenhagen and worked as a production designer all through the 1990’s. In 2000 she co-founded the production company Good World AB (today Good Film & Post), and began to work as a producer. In 2011 she founded the production company Nordic Factory (previously DoDream) based on the vision of connecting ideas with resources, and the communication of sustainable values – socially, culturally, economically and ecologically. Since her time at Good, she has produced a dozen documentaries, as well as many short films, a number of feature films, a web TV channel, and a documentary TV series. She also work as an international pitch coach. Nordic Genre Boost, Nordic Talents, Nordic Film Market, Film Greenland. Baltic Powr Event, Super 16, Royal Jordan Film Commission and Balkan Film Market are some of them she’s been working for. Since 2013 Helene has been President of WIFT Sweden and between 2018-2023 also President of Women in Film & Television International.

About Maeve Stone

Maeve is a director / writer for film and theatre whose work responds to issues of climate breakdown, and revisits the canon with a feminist lens. She is artivist-in-residence with Project Arts Centre through 2022, editing a limited run publication called “How Do We Start?”, providing mentorship through RHIZOME and facilitating a pilot project called Roots For The Future, a radical climate thinking group for and by artists. Through her practice as an artist, activist and curator Maeve will work with Project Arts Centre on a creative journey as Project begins to explore how they can approach a more sustainable way of existing in the world and how they can support artists to lead the way; collaborating and bringing their dynamic skills to bear on a problem we cannot avoid. She is lead artist for axis Ballymun’s Green Arts Department facilitating a series of events that reach out into the community and raise awareness of Green Issues. In 2021 she co-founded a film and media company called Cracking Light Productions with her partner Alex Gill. Looking for moments that capture something true, sometimes messy and sometimes composed, these projects are always focused on building connections. In film Maeve has just completed her second short film The Last Harvest which included a pilot in sustainable short film making supported by Creative Ireland and Clare County Council. She was awarded Screen Ireland’s position as shadow director October 2018 on Wildfire – upcoming debut from Cathy Brady. In June 2019 she shot her first short film The House Fell which premiered at Cork Film Festival and was selected by Fastnet Festival, Kerry International Film Festival, The Richard Harris International Film Festival and Achill Island Film Festival. In theatre most recently she composed original music for The Wrens by Dan Colley. In 2019 she wrote and co-directed an interdisciplinary work called Bodies of Water with Eoghan Carrick, visual artist Jonah King and artist Una Kavanagh, UNWOMAN Part III with radical feminist theatre company THE RABBLE (Australia), The Mouth of a Shark – a song cycle about migration – with Change of Address and THE SHITSTORM: a riot grrrl sequel to The Tempest, Abbey Theatre-Fringe Co-Production which debuted as part of Dublin Fringe at The Peacock September 2017.