Parents in the Palais: An Open Letter to the Cannes Film Festival
Written by Alexandra Hidalgo, Sophie Mayer, Mathilde Dratwa, Barbara Ann O’Leary, Marian Evans
Copy Editing and Posting by Alexandra Hidalgo
Anna Tatarska nursing her child on a bench during the 70th Cannes Film Festival. Courtesy of Anna Tatarska.
Dear Cannes Film Festival Organizers,
We, a group of filmmakers, actors, film critics, film festival organizers, distributors, scholars, audience members, and activists, are writing to show our concern over the way in which parents, in particular mothers, were treated at the 70th Cannes Film Festival when arriving with their children to the event. As a way to help Cannes resolve this issue, we also provide a number of models used by other film festivals to welcome parents and children. There were a number of cases of parents receiving mixed information about attending with children and being sent away because they had babies in their arms. As Women and Hollywood reported, both Sofia Coppola and Nicole Kidman were absent from the awards ceremony because they had returned home to their children. The entire Cannes Film Festival community is short-changed when award-winning talent cannot stay because they may not be able to bring their families to participate in their success.
As Marian Evans reported, director and producer Annemarie Jacir, who has previously had two films in competition at Cannes, was unable to attend a meeting because her one-year-old did not have a festival badge. Jacir was later told that dogs and babies needed special badges. However, when she went to request such a badge, she learned that there were no badges available for babies at this year’s festival.
Jacir’s was not an isolated case. As Women and Hollywood reported, Anna Tatarska, a Polish journalist, was not allowed to pick up her badge with her five-month old in her arms. She too was given misleading information. First she was told that babies required special badges and then that no such badges existed. She ended up having to nurse on a park bench outside the film festival instead of being able to escape the heat inside the Palais. This indicates a lack of clarity from festival organizers, which places the burden of labor on delegates who are already managing a child, as well as their work.
Parenting is a reality for many filmmakers, distributors, critics, and other workers in the film industry, and it often enriches the stories they are able to tell and their approach to their work. Particularly for parents of small children, being unable to bring them to film festivals when they have a film on the circuit can prove traumatic—as well as economically unviable—for both parent and child. Not to mention that most nursing mothers cannot be away from their babies for more than a few hours.
As Making it Possible, a 2016 UK survey by Raising Films shows, 79% percent of parents and carers felt that their caring responsibilities had a negative effect on their careers in the film and television industries. As well as the long-hours culture of film production, parents and carers pointed to the lack of access—both practically and economically—to festivals for those with caring responsibilities. The survey showed that women continue to bear a disproportionate burden of primary caring responsibilities, and thus that the exclusion of parents and carers from the industry has an exponential effect on women’s presence and the sustainability of their careers.
Through this letter, we hope to not only bring attention to the issue, but to also provide some examples of film festivals and organizations that are handling the presence of parents in welcoming ways. Here are some possibilities that we hope Cannes will consider for the future:
● Moms-in-Film piloted a free, mobile child care unit at South by Southwest this year. In addition to providing childcare, the unit was also a place to nurse, pump, and meet other parents. South by Southwest had an additional “mother’s room” in the convention center for pumping and nursing. Moms-in-Film is now discussing bringing bespoke childcare models to a number of other film festivals, tailoring them to the specific needs of each festival, and would be happy to discuss ways to incorporate other parent-friendly practices, including communication with parents planning to attend, with Cannes.
● True/False Film Festival offers a community crèche for delegates (supported by crowdfunding).
● Sheffield Doc/Fest offered crèche places for delegates in 2016.
● Locarno Film Festival offers on-site childcare for programmers and delegates.
● The Athens International Film and Video Festival provided free film badges for filmmakers’ children and free coloring books with the film festivals’ poster artwork and crayons to all attending children. They also featured a number of child-friendly films that allowed parents to enjoy screenings with their children.
World-class film festivals offer world-class care and attention to guests, delegates, and industry. Cannes, as the world’s premiere film festival, should be leading, not following, on these developments. Any of these initiatives or a combination of them would help avoid the situations that Jacir and Tatarska found themselves in this year—not to mention the situation of talented filmmakers, critics, and distributors who, knowing how they would be received chose not to bring their children, or those who were unable to attend because they couldn’t leave their children at home. We hope that next year’s festival organizers will be willing to try some creative solutions in order to establish a more welcoming space for the filmmakers, actors, press members, distributors, and other attendees who have made the Cannes Film Festival one of the most vibrant and influential film events in the world for seven decades.
Thank you,
Alexandra Hidalgo, editor-in-chief of agnès films, director, producer, author of Cámara Retórica, assistant professor at Michigan State University. East Lansing, Michigan, USA.
Sophie Mayer, author of Political Animals: The New Feminist Cinema, critic, curator, co-founder of Raising Films. London, UK.
Mathilde Dratwa, Founder, Moms-in-Film, filmmaker, teaching artist. New York, New York, USA.
Barbara Ann O’Leary, Catalyst, #DirectedbyWomen. Bloomington, Indiana, USA.
Marian Evans, writer, activist at Wellywood Woman. Wellington, Aotearoa, New Zealand.
Signed by
Farah Abushwesha, producer at Rocliffe Limited. London, UK.
Laura Adams, head of Member Services at Directors UK, film programmer. London, UK.
Alexis Adkins, actor, producer, president of DixieMouse Productions. San Mateo, California, USA.
Alexandra Afryea, mother, actress. London, UK.
Kaleem Aftab, freelance film journalist, producer. London, UK.
Yahya Alabdallah, filmmaker. Amman, Jordan.
Bahareh Alaei, producer, editor, assistant professor at Mt. San Jacinto College. San Jacinto, California, USA.
Kim Albright, director. London, UK.
Dalia Alkury, director. Jordan and Norway.
Fabian Altenried, producer, director at Schuldenberg Films. Berlin, Germany.
Joel Neville Anderson, filmmaker, researcher, programmer of JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film. New York, New York, USA.
Corrina Antrobus, founder and director of the Bechdel Test Fest. London, UK.
Raymond Antrobus, poet, writer, educator, activist. London, UK.
Kerry Appleyard, senior vice president of scripted programing and executive producer at Temple Street, mother. Toronto, Canada.
Violeta Ayala, director, producer, writer, co-founder of United Notions Film. New York, USA, Paris, France, Cochabamba, Bolivia, and Sydney, Australia.
Elizabeth Bachner, licensed midwife, on-set pregnancy and childbirth consultant for films and television. Los Angeles, California, USA.
Anna Backman Rogers, senior lecturer in Feminist Philosophy and Visual Culture at the University of Gothenburg. Gothenburg, Sweden.
Keirda Bahruth, filmmaker, writer. Los Angeles, California, USA.
Benita Bailey, actress, director. Berlin, Germany and Montréal, Canada.
Neus Ballús, film director, CIMA Catalunya president. Catalonia, Spain.
Cecilia Barroso, editor-in-chief and film critic at Cenas de Cinema. Brasília, Brazil.
Heidi Basch-Harod, executive director of Women’s Voices Now. Los Angeles, California, USA.
Yaw Basoah, producer. London, UK.
Maya Bastian, independent filmmaker, writer, artist. Toronto, Canada.
Ossama Bawardi, producer at Philistine Films. Bethlehem, Palestine.
Natalie Beak, art director, mother of two young children. Sydney, Australia.
Beatrice Behn, editor-in-chief of kino-zeit, film critic, member of FIPRESCI, writer, lecturer at Freie Universität Berlin, filmmaker. Berlin, Germany.
Agatha Beins, assistant professor of Multicultural Women’s and Gender Studies at Texas Woman’s University. Denton, Texas, USA.
Laura Bellingham, cinematographer. London, UK.
Javier Beltramino, producer, director. Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Amy Bench, cinematographer. Austin, Texas, USA.
Nicky Bentham, producer at Neon Films, co-founder Raising Films. London, UK.
Abby Berendt Lavoi, director, producer, owner of Lavoi Creative and TeamJADED Productions. San Francisco, California, USA and New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
Brooke Berman, filmmaker, screenwriter. New York, New York, USA.
Nora Berman, executive producer, writer, director. New York, New York, USA.
Jay Bernard, film programmer at BFI Flare. London, UK.
Barbara Bialowas, film director, president of Polish Female Filmmakers Association. Warsaw, Poland.
Florina-Alice Biro, writer. Berlin, Germany.
Emma Blomkamp, research coordinator at the University of Melbourne. Melbourne, Australia.
Anna Bogutskaya, film programmer, co-director of The Final Girls, programme director of Underwire Festival. London, UK.
Julietta Boscolo, writer, director. Sydney, Australia.
Nathaniel Bowler, cinematographer, writer. East Lansing, Michigan, USA.
Ailish Bracken, producer at Against the Grain Films. Dublin, Ireland.
Samantha Brasil, researcher, curator of Cineclube Delas, film critic, member of Elviras – Coletivo de Mulheres Críticas de Cinema. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Mercedes Brazier-Thurman, screenwriter. New York, New York, USA.
Marisa Brown, writer, producer at Octopod Films. Melbourne, Australia.
William Brown, academic, filmmaker. London, UK.
Moira Buffini, screenwriter, dramatist. London, UK.
Emilie Bujès, artistic director of Visions du Réel International Film Festival. Nyon, Switzerland.
Laura Burden, events runner for Doc/Fest 2017. Sheffield, UK.
Patricia Byrne, actress, screenwriter. Mexico City, Mexico.
Esther Cahill-Chiaroni, executive director of Script to Screen, director of the Big Screen Symposium. Auckland, New Zealand.
Kate Cheeseman, director. London, UK.
Michael Chrisoulakis, producer, director at High Noon Films. Sydney, Australia.
Adrienne Christopher, writer, director, vice president of DixieMouse Productions. San Mateo, California, USA.
Bridget Chun, director, producer, writer, co-founder of Bruliet Media. Los Angeles, California, USA.
Aislinn Clarke, writer, director. Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Shelley Cobb, associate professor of film, principal investigator of the AHRC-funded research project Calling the Shots: Women and Contemporary Film Culture in the UK. Southampton, UK.
David Colagiovanni, festival director of the Athens International Film + Video Festival. Athens, Ohio, USA.
Carolyn Combs, executive director of Women in Film and Television Vancouver and Vancouver International Women in Film Festival. Vancouver, Canada.
Rebecca Cook, director, producer, actress, executive board member of IATSE Local 488. Spokane, Washington, USA.
Jennifer Corcoran, feature film writer, director, producer at Circeo Films. Cork, Ireland.
Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly, producer at Sixty Six Pictures. London, UK.
Kate Croser, producer at Kojo Entertainment. Glenside, Australia.
Natasha Dack Ojumu, founder of Tigerlily Productions. London, UK.
Este Darin-Cooper, strategy consultant, impact investor and philanthropist, founder and director of Darin-Cooper Foundation. Sydney, Australia.
Meneka Das, actor, director at Bohemia Junction. UK and India.
Margot Daviot-Fernandez, cinema marketing executive at Curzon Cinemas. London, UK.
Claire Deak, composer. Melbourne, Australia.
Gina Dellabarca, festival director of Show Me Shorts Film Festival. Auckland, New Zealand.
Fernanda del Nido, producer at Setembro Cine. Barcelona, Spain.
Tamsyn Dent, lecturer in media production at Bournemouth University. Poole, UK.
Isabel de Ocampo, independent producer, filmmaker, European Women’s Audiovisual Network executive president. Madrid, Spain.
Manon de Reeper, editor-in-chief of Film Inquiry, screenwriter. Perth, Australia.
Nainita Desai, film and television composer, media executive committee at British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors, visiting lecturer at Goldsmiths College, University of London. London, UK.
Bindu de Stoppani, screenwriter, director. UK and Switzerland.
Ursula Devine, development executive at Northern Ireland Screen. Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Deepa Dhanraj, documentary filmmaker, researcher. Bangalore, India.
Hope Dickson Leach, writer, director, co-founder of Raising Films. Edinburgh, UK.
Jane Donoghue, independent producer. Cardiff, UK.
Ariel Dougherty, filmmaker, producer, writer, co-founder of Women Make Movies. Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, USA.
Heidi Lee Douglas, writer, director, co-chair of Sydney Film Fatales. Sydney, Australia.
Lindiwe Dovey, senior lecturer in African film at SOAS University of London, founder of Film Africa and the Cambridge African Film Festival, author of Curating Africa in the Age of Film Festivals, mother. London, UK.
Jennifer Drysdale, philanthropist, change-maker. Sydney, Australia.
Elisabeth Durkin, producer. New York, New York, USA.
Solène Edouard, talent agent, activist. Paris, France.
Dylan Edwards, actor, writer. London, UK.
Gareth Evans, film curator at Whitechapel Gallery. London, UK.
Karen Everett, director at FilmFixer, managing director at Screen Suffolk. London, UK.
Dan Fallshaw, producer, editor, director of photography, co-founder of United Notions Film. New York, New York, USA, Paris, France, and Sydney, Australia.
Shideh Faramand, writer, director at Sheepie Productions. Sydney, Australia.
Úna Feely, co-director of IndieCork Film Festival. Cork, Ireland.
Frankie Fenton, director, producer at Sector 7G. Dublin, Ireland.
Ailsa Ferrier, long-term film industry employee, mother. London, UK.
Angie Fielder, producer, co-founder of Aquarius Films. Sydney, Australia.
Pauline Findlay, writer, director, producer, co-chair of Sydney Film Fatales. Sydney, Australia.
Paul Fischer, producer, screenwriter. London, UK.
Amy Fox, screenwriter. New York, New York, USA.
Louise Fox, festival director of Cornwall Film Festival. Falmouth, UK.
Nanna Frank Rasmussen, film critic, founding partner of WIFT Nordic. Copenhagen, Denmark.
Lisa Friedhofen, editor, film student at Film University KONRAD WOLF Babelsberg. Berlin, Germany.
Su Friedrich, filmmaker, professor at Princeton University. Princeton, New Jersey, USA.
Sonia Fritz, film director, professor at the Universidad del Sagrado Corazón. San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Jag Garcia, Digital Filmmaking Program student at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde. Manila, Philippines.
Miriam Garcia, marketing and communications at Women Make Movies. New York, New York, USA.
Yana Georgieva, sales agent, producer. London, UK.
Roisín Geraghty, producer, festival programmer. Dublin, Ireland.
Sabina Giado, writer-filmmaker. Sydney, Australia.
Andrea Gibb, screenwriter. Edinburgh, UK.
Maria Giese, Directors Guild of America feature film director, screenwriter, CEO and founder of Women Directors in Hollywood, co-chair of Women’s Media Summit. Stonington, Connecticut, USA.
Rebecca Gin, editor, director, London, UK.
Brooke Goldfinch, writer, director. Sydney, Australia.
Marisol Gomez-Mouakad, writer, director, editor, producer, adjunct professor at Glendale Community College. San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Helen Grace, distributor and producer at Left Films. London, UK.
Helene Granqvist, CEO and producer at Nordic Factory Film, president of WIFT Sweden. Malmo, Sweden.
Katie Grimes, staff writer for agnès films, communications associate at the Institute of Social Policy and Understanding. Dearborn, Michigan, USA.
Bat-Sheva Guez, writer, director, editor. Brooklyn, New York, USA.
Samm Haillay, producer at Third Films. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
Rebecca Haimowitz, director, producer, filmmaking professor at Rutgers University. Brooklyn, New York, USA.
Hannah Hamad, senior lecturer in Media Studies at the University of East Anglia. Norwich, UK.
Mick Hannigan, co-director of IndieCork Film Festival. Cork, Ireland.
Vicki Hansen, film composer. Sydney, Australia.
Amelia Hapsari, program director of In-Docs. Jakarta, Indonesia.
Kate Hardie, actress, director, writer, tutor, curator of A Woman’s Work. London, UK.
Jonathan Hardy, director, producer at Counterstate Films. Bristol, UK.
Jodie Hatley, assistant to film and television agents. London, UK.
Deborah Haywood, writer, director, mum. London, UK.
Vincent Hazard, freelance director, writer. Paris, France.
Paula Heffernan, head of production at Element Pictures. Dublin, Ireland.
Marielle Heller, filmmaker, screenwriter. New York, New York, USA.
Olivia Hetreed, screenwriter, president of Writers’ Guild of Great Britain. London, UK.
Lucy Hill, head of acquisitions, Entertainment One Films Australia. Sydney, Australia.
Jessica Hobbs, technical project administrator at Sundance Institute, freelance writer. Los Angeles, California, USA.
Ted Hope, head of development, production, and acquisition at Amazon Studios. Santa Monica, California, USA.
Samantha Horley, writer, producer, lecturer, founder The Vipers Nest, founder, board member of Film Export UK. Wales, UK.
Melissa J. Houghton, executive director of Women in Film & Video. Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
Miranda Howard-Williams, director. London, UK.
Pamela Hutchinson, freelance writer. London, UK.
Louise Hutt, film director. Hamilton, New Zealand.
Wendy Ide, critic at Screen International, The Observer, and The Guardian. London, UK.
Valentina Iusuphodjaev, producer at BRIO FILM. Chisinau, Moldova.
Annemarie Jacir, director, writer, producer. Bethlehem, Palestine.
Jade Jackman, writer, filmmaker. London, UK.
Christopher James Baker, actor, writer, director. Brooklyn, New York, USA.
Nika Jazaee, journalist and filmmaker at Global Woman. London, UK.
Deborah Jermyn, reader in Film and TV at the University of Roehampton. London, UK.
Peter Johnston, filmmaker, educator. Okemos, Michigan, USA.
Alex Kalymnios, director. Brighton, UK.
Kate Kaminski, filmmaker, founder and artistic director of Bluestocking Film Festival. Portland, Oregon, USA.
Cate Kane, head of acquisitions at Curzon Artificial Eye. London, UK.
Anna Kazejak writer, director. Warsaw, Poland.
Kathryn Kennedy, producer at Kennedy Films. Dublin, Ireland.
Susan Kerns, co-founder and co-director of Chicago Feminist Film Festival. Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Jameel Khaja, writer, director, producer. Austin, Texas, USA.
Mahmood Khan, graduate student at the University of California. Los Angeles, California, USA.
Suhad Khatib, filmmaker, artist, designer. San Francisco, California, USA.
Jessica Kiang, freelance film critic for Variety, The Playlist. Berlin, Germany.
Nelson Kim, screenwriter, director, educator. Brooklyn, New York, USA.
AnnaRose King, writer, director, producer at Young King Productions. Brooklyn, New York, USA.
Chris Kingsleigh, writer, director. Los Angeles, California, USA.
Ayse Koklu, associate lecturer at Central Saint Martins, production assistant at Sands Films. London, UK.
Miriam Kolesnyk, director of photography. Berlin, Germany.
Stefanie Kolk, writer, filmmaker. Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Petra Korner, cinematographer, single mother. Vienna, Austria and Los Angeles, California, USA.
Jenni Koski, creative producer, vice chair of WIFT Finland, founding member and producer of WIFT Nordic Network. Helsinki, Finland.
Andrea Kuhn, festival director at Nuremberg International Human Rights Film Festival. Nuremberg, Germany.
Veronika Kührová, producer, mother. Prague, Czech Republic.
Jessica Kukla, social media specialist for agnès films, film student at Michigan State University. East Lansing, Michigan, USA.
Hana Kulhankova, festival director of One World International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival. Prague, Czech Republic.
Anoodha Kunnath, filmmaker, director, founder of Curiouser. Cochin, Kerala, India.
Karolina Kus, programming manager, Curzon Cinemas. London, UK.
Stephanie Laing, mother, director, producer, founder of PYPO Network. New York, New York, USA.
Samantha Lang, director, screenwriter. Sydney, Australia.
Line Langebek, screenwriter, co-founder of Raising Films. London, UK.
Christy Lamb, filmmaker, director of strategy and development for Moms-in-Film. Los Angeles, California, USA.
Suzie Lavelle, freelance cinematographer. London, UK.
Terry Lawler, executive director of New York Women in Film & Television. New York, New York, USA.
Brian Leahy, writer, filmmaker. Los Angeles, California, USA.
Rebecca Lenkiewicz, screenwriter, playwright. London, UK.
Bonnie Lenore Kyburz, Sundance Film Festival theater manager, DIY digital filmmaker, author of Cruel Auteurism, actor, background artist, assistant professor at Lewis University. Romeoville, Illinois, USA.
Jessica Levick, independent producer, co-founder of Raising Films. London, UK.
Tamara Liebman, chair of the board, Show Me Shorts Film Festival. Auckland, New Zealand.
Dana Linssen, editor-in-chief of De Filmkrant, film critic at NRC Handelsblad, writer, curator, researcher. Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Carter Logan, producer, composer. New York, New York, USA.
Skadi Loist, research associate at Institute for Media Research at University of Rostock, Germany, co-founder of the Film Festival Research Network. Hamburg, Germany.
Alice Lowe, actor, writer, director. London, UK.
Daniela Lucato, actor, filmmaker. Berlin, Germany
Marie Maillos, screenwriter, scholar. Toulouse, France.
Sophie Mair, writer, producer. Bristol, UK.
Liz Manashil, feature writer, director, manager of the Creative Distribution Initiative at Sundance Institute. Los Angeles, California, USA.
Leena Manimekalai, filmmaker, poet. Chennai, India.
Elena Manrique, producer, executive producer. Madrid, Spain.
Leonie Mansfield, producer and partner at Arcadia, founder of female producer collective Screen Vixens. Sydney, Australia.
Abigail Markowitz, submissions coordinator at Vancouver International Women in Film Festival. Vancouver, Canada.
Maribel Martínez, title sequence designer. Mexico City, Mexico.
Destri Martino, writer, director, founder of The Director List. Los Angeles, California, USA.
Ivana Massetti, writer, director, producer at I M From Mars Films, CEO and founder of Women Occupy Hollywood. Los Angeles, California, USA.
Leslie McCleave, writer, director, mother. Brooklyn, New York, USA.
Tonya McCornell, mother, writer, director, producer at Degrees of Beauty Productions, NYWIFT Moms Network. Brooklyn, New York, USA.
Naomi McDougall Jones, writer, actress, producer, founder of The 51 Fund. New York, New York, USA.
Erin McElhinney, project assistant and event manager for Raising Films. Edinburgh, UK.
Maeve McGrath, producer, actor, artistic director of Kerry Film Festival. Kerry, Ireland.
Donna McRae, writer, director, lecturer in Film & TV at Deakin University. Melbourne, Australia.
Eleanor McSherry, scriptwriter, producer, co-chair of the Limerick Arts and Culture Exchange. Limerick, Ireland.
Jabeen Merchant, film editor, writer. Mumbai, India.
Leah Meyerhoff, director, writer, producer, founder of Film Fatales. New York, New York, USA.
Francine Michelle, writer, director, editor at Fortuity Productions. Los Angeles, California, USA.
Danielle Micich, director at Force Majeure. Sydney, Australia.
Sarah Mitchell, writer, social media specialist for Sabana Grande Productions, film student at Michigan State University. East Lansing, Michigan, USA.
Stéphane Mitchell, parent, screenwriter, founding member of Swiss Women’s Audiovisual Network. Geneva, Switzerland.
Elizabeth Mizon, freelance filmmaker, co-director of Bristol Radical Film. Bristol, UK.
Kyna Morgan, MA candidate at the University of Hertfordshire, founder of Her Film Project. South Bend, Indiana, USA.
Sarah Mosses, CEO of Together Films. London, UK.
Michelle Mower, writer, producer, director, CEO of Imagination Worldwide. Houston, Texas, USA.
Alexia Muiños Ruiz, director, producer, deputy director of EWA Network. Barcelona, Spain.
Irene Musumeci Klein, film marketing manager at Curzon Cinemas. London, UK.
Kendra Mylnechuk, actress, filmmaker. Missoula, Montana, USA.
Joanna Natasegara, producer, CEO of Violet Films. London, UK.
Kelly Nathe, director, producer, mother. Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
Amy K. Neil, writer, director. London, UK.
Chris Noonan, writer, director. Sydney, Australia.
Emma Norton, head of development at Element Pictures. Dublin, Ireland.
Anja O’Connor, therapist. Melbourne, Australia.
Natasha O’Keeffe, actor, writer. London, UK.
Ania Ostrowska, film editor of The F-Word blog, PhD candidate researching women documentarians at the University of Southampton. London, UK.
Alison Owen, co-owner Monumental Pictures, film and television producer. Los Angeles, California, USA.
Brian Padian, director, screenwriter. Portland, Oregon, USA
Becky Page, post production supervisor. London, UK.
Nicole Paglia, writer, director. London, UK.
Bernardo Pajares, film journalist. Madrid, Spain.
Bogdan Pălici, producer. Bucharest, Romania.
Lucy Parker, filmmaker, joint course leader for BA in Filmmaking at Kingston University. London, UK.
Yoana Pavlova, founder of Festivalists.com, film critic, media researcher, programmer. Paris, France.
Jenna Payne, writer, director, producer. Los Angeles, California, USA.
Luísa Pécora, journalist, film critic, editor of Mulher no Cinema. São Paulo, Brazil.
Janina Pérez Arias, freelance film journalist. Latin America and Spain.
Claudia Pickering, writer and director at Cliff House Productions, co-director of Freshflix Film Festival. Sydney, Australia.
Michael Pierce, co-director of Cinema Nation. Liverpool, UK.
Miriam Pinedo, actor, producer, editor. New York, New York, USA.
Lindsay Poulton, executive producer at the Guardian Documentaries. London, UK.
Mark Prebble, writer, director. Auckland, New Zealand.
Steve Presence, research fellow in Film and Television, University of the West of England Bristol. Bristol, UK.
Vicki Psarias, director, blogger, vlogger, mum of two. Yorkshire, UK.
Brooke Purdy, screenwriter, director, actress, mother. Burbank, California, USA.
Danijela Radulović, producer. Nikšić, Montenegro.
Mara Ravins, writer, director. Toronto, Canada.
Anna Read, director of the London Feminist Film Festival. London, UK.
Kaisan Rei, filmmaker, artist. Brooklyn, New York. USA.
Rosylyn Rhee, filmmaker, artist. Los Angeles, California, USA.
Megan Riakos, director, writer, producer, executive member of Women in Film & Television. Sydney, Australia.
Charlotte Riley, actor, writer, mother. London, UK.
Cecilia Ritchie, producer and partner at Aquarius Films. Sydney, Australia.
Selina Robertson, co-founder of feminist collective Club des Femmes. London, UK.
Rachel Robey, senior producer at Wellington Films. Nottingham, UK.
Miguel Ángel Rolland, producer, director, founder of #DocImpacto. Madrid, Spain.
Shoshana Rosenbaum, independent filmmaker. Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
Anita Ross, writer, actress, producer. Wellington, New Zealand.
Julian Ross, programmer, researcher. Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Julie Casper Roth, director, producer, screenwriter, assistant professor at SUNY Cobleskill. Delmar, New York, USA.
Shelagh Rowan-Legg, filmmaker, critic, editor, academic, festival programmer. Toronto, Canada.
Ashley Sabin, producer and director at Carnivalesque Films. Canterbury, UK.
Lynne Sachs, filmmaker. Brooklyn, New York, USA.
Annegret Sachse, director of photography. Berlin, Germany.
Ana Lucía Salamanca, cinematographer, director, editor, writer. Caracas, Venezuela.
Zoe Sale, lecturer in broadcasting, development producer. London, UK.
Caspar Salmon, freelance film critic. London, UK.
Terrie Samundra, director, screenwriter. Los Angeles, California, USA.
Jennica Schwartzman, actress, writer, executive producer at Purpose Pictures. Hollywood, California, USA.
Amber Sealey, director, writer, actor, producer. Los Angeles, California, USA.
Katrina Sedgwick, director, CEO of the Australian Centre for the Moving Image. Melbourne, Australia.
Estrella Sendra, researcher, festival organiser, filmmaker. London, UK.
Louisa Shanks, producer at Into Film. London, UK.
Redelia Shaw, producer at United Notions Film. Los Angeles, California, USA.
Irene Silvera Frischknecht, film programmer. London, UK.
Melissa Silverstein, founder and publisher of Women and Hollywood. Brooklyn, New York, USA.
Helen Simmons, producer at Guinea Pig Productions and Aimimage Productions. London, UK.
Sébastien Simon, freelance filmmaker, program coordinator at Busan International Short Film Festival. Busan, South Korea.
Liz Singh, producer, production manager. Montreal, Canada.
Karen Skloss, director, editor, writer. Austin, Texas, USA.
Loren Slater, founder and director of Signal Film and Media, cinematographer. Cumbria and Edinburgh, UK.
Alies Sluiter, composer, filmmaker. New York, New York, USA.
Victoria Solano, director, documentary producer. Buenos Aires, Argentina and Bogotá, Colombia.
Sarah Solemani, actress, writer. Los Angeles, California, USA.
Mina T. Son, documentary filmmaker. Santa Monica, California, USA.
Alessia Sonaglioni, director, European Women’s Audiovisual Network. Strasbourg, France.
Tema L. Staig, executive director of Women In Media, production designer, professor at LA City College. Los Angeles, California, USA.
Polly Staniford, producer, co-founder of Aquarius Films. Sydney, Australia.
Isabel Stein, researcher. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Isabel Stevens, writer, programmer. London, UK.
Belinde Ruth Stieve, actress, activist at SchspIN, NEROPA. Berlin, Germany.
Gail Stroud, costume designer. Melbourne, Australia
Polly Stupples, lecturer at Victoria University, researching conditions for women filmmakers in the Pacific. Wellington, New Zealand.
Maria Stylianou, film producer, executive producer for A.B. Seahorse Film Productions. Nicosia, Cyprus.
Zhuo-Ning Su, freelance film journalist, lawyer. Berlin, Germany.
Carla Subirana, film director. Catalonia, Spain.
Moira Sullivan, professor of cinema, City College of San Francisco, film critic, FIPRESCI, Association of Women Film Journalists. San Francisco, California, USA and Stockholm, Sweden.
Vaishnavi Sundar, writer, director, editor, founder of Women Making Films. Chennai, India.
Robin Swicord, writer, director. Santa Monica, California, USA.
Karen Sztajnberg, screenwriter, director, video artist. Brooklyn, New York, USA.
Waka Takahashi Brown, film and TV organizer, Willamette Writers Conference. Portland, Oregon, USA.
Katrina Ross Tan, film festival organizer, film programmer at Cinema Rehiyon, assistant professor in the University of the Philippine Los Banos. Laguna, Philippines.
Pearl Tan, director of Pearly Productions, diversity patron, Women in Film & Television. Sydney, Australia.
Holly Tarquini, founder of F-Rating, executive director of Bath Film Festival. Bath, UK.
Anna Tatarska, film journalist. Warsaw, Poland.
Ellen Tejle, cinema director, Women in Film and Television. Stockholm, Sweden.
Michael Theiler, sound designer. Melbourne, Australia.
Alex Thiele, produce at 65 Wilding Films. London, UK.
Christina Toms, filmmaker, educator. Vancouver, Canada.
Hannah Tookey, independent producer. London, UK.
Frederick Trevino, colorist and owner at Beambox Studio. New York, New York, USA.
Paula Vaccaro, producer and writer at Pinball London. London, UK.
Natalie van den Dungen, writer, director, co-chair of Sydney Film Fatales. Sydney, Australia.
Helen Varty, marketing manager at Entertainment One Films Australia. Sydney, Australia.
Nikola Vasakova, producer, curator, founder of Girls in Film. London, UK.
Maria Velez-Serna, researcher at the University of Stirling. Stirling, UK.
Kate Verity Wilson, founder of and producer at Fury Films. London, UK.
Daniela Verztman Bagdadi, researcher. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Juliana Vieira Costa, researcher at Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Manjinder Virk, actress, writer, director. London, UK.
Hannah Vitale, writer, director. New York, New York, USA.
Anne von Petersdorff, filmmaker, doctoral candidate at Michigan State University. Germany, USA, and Argentina.
Louise Wadley, writer, director at Girls’ Own Pictures, lecturer at Sydney Film School. Sydney, Australia.
Sadie Wearing, lecturer in Gender Media and Culture at London School of Economics. London, UK.
Nicole Wensel, founder of Conscious Cinema Co., writer, director, actor, producer. Los Angeles, California, USA.
Joanna Werner, producer at Werner Film Productions. Melbourne, Australia.
Catherine Wheatley, senior lecturer in Film Studies at King’s College. London, UK.
Krista Whetstone, writer, director, assistant professor at Borough of Manhattan Community College. New York, New York, USA.
Sandy Widyanata, film director. Los Angeles, California, USA.
A.B. Williams, filmmaker. Long Island, New York, USA.
Linda Ruth Williams, professor of Film Studies at the University of Southampton. Southampton, UK.
Rebecca Nicole Williams, curator, historian, event organiser. London, UK.
Foster Wilson, director, filmmaker. Los Angeles, California, USA.
Courtney Wise, producer at Wise Film Productions. Sydney, Australia.
Melanie Wise, actor, producer, editor, founder of Artemis Women In Action Film Festival. Los Angeles, California, USA.
Verity Wislocki, producer, post-production supervisor, mother. London, UK.
Camilla Wren, producer, writer, mother. London, UK.
Natalie Wreyford, researcher at the University of Southampton, Calling the Shots: Women and Contemporary Film Culture in the UK research project. Southampton, UK.
Leah Yananton, writer, director, actor. Los Angeles, California, USA.
Sarah Yovovich, writer, producer. Los Angeles, California, USA.
Enid Zentelis, director, screenwriter. New York, New York, USA.
Debra Zimmerman, executive director of Women Make Movies. New York, New York, USA.