Last night in Auckland (Monday August 25) the Directors & Editors Guild of NZ picked up the baton and assembled a great panel to discuss this riveting subject. With Kim Hill as Chair and an articulate panel of Gaylene Preston, Cushla Dillon, Annie Goldson and Jackie van Beek, DEGNZ Executive Director Fiona Copland is to be applauded for initiating and driving this forum. WIFT thanks Fiona, Kim, the panel, Lucy at DEGNZ, and Sophie Henderson and the team at the Basement for hosting the event.
The Basement was packed, with extra seating inserted wherever possible to accommodate a wide range of attendees, from some of our most experienced practitioners, to staff from NZ Film Commission and NZ On Air, to students coming to grips with their future working environment. Kim Hill chaired the session admirably as you might expect, leading off with the question "Why do we need women's stories?"
The forum was filmed so you will have the opportunity at some point to watch a robust discussion about an issue for which there are no easy answers. However 100 people engaging actively with the topic last night is stepping in the right direction.
Ponder these statistics:
From 2010 to 2013 women have directed 17% of dramatic feature films that had investment from NZFC
From 2010 to 2013 women have directed 40% of documentaries/docudramas that had investment from NZFC
From 2006 - 2013 15% of New Zealand dramatic features and 40% of documentary features have been edited by women
There will be more discussion on this in the future so watch this space!