Female professionals in European film production
Patrizia Simone December 2021
A publication of the European Audiovisual Observatory
SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY
Scope Scope
Share of female professionals working as: ❑ Directors ❑ Screenwriters ❑ Producers ❑ Cinematographers ❑ Composers ❑ Lead roles / protagonists
of European* feature films produced between 2016 and 2020 and theatrically released in at least one European market
* «European» here refers to the Member States of the Council of Europe.
Research Researchquestions questions
This report addresses the presence of women among film professionals from three different angles:
A
B
C
How are women represented among active professionals?
What is the average share of female professionals per film?
What is the share of works by a majority of female professionals (female-driven teams)?
Definitions and sources : European Research questionsfeature films 1/3 The analysis presented in this section draws on data from the European Audiovisual Observatory’s LUMIERE database, which collates annual admissions to theatrically released films from a wide variety of sources, including national film agencies and statistics offices. The study sample includes European feature films produced between 2016 and 2020 and released in cinemas in Europe between 2016 and 2020. The dataset only includes films for which it was possible to track at least one commercial theatrical screening in one of the European markets covered in the LUMIERE database. Please note that the annual number of films produced in a given country as it appears in LUMIERE may differ from official production figures, since the database only includes films that have been commercially released. For time series, the year of production has been chosen as an indicator instead of the release years. The analysis only includes feature-length films, leaving out compilations of short films and event cinema screenings. In the analysis, animated feature films are considered separately from fiction films.
Definitions and sources : European Research questionsfeature films 2/3 This report takes into account the origin of film works, rather than the nationality of directors. A film is here considered to be of European origin when produced and majority-financed by a European country. For the purpose of this analysis, the 47 Member States of the Council of Europe1) are considered European countries. However, the LUMIERE database covers a maximum of 37 European markets2) for films produced between 2016 and 20120. Since LUMIERE tracks films based on admissions, the volume of film production in those countries that are not covered in the database may have been underestimated (i.e. may not include films that were only released in their national markets). Please note that there are differences in the coverage of individual markets in LUMIERE which can distort the direct comparability of statistical indicators between years or countries. This is particularly true with regard to the number of films on release. 1)
Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Russian Federation, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom.
2)
Austria, Belgium, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Serbia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom and Ireland (treated as one market).
Definitions and sources : European Research questionsfeature films 3/3 The report’s scope includes six professional categories: directors, screenwriters, producers, cinematographers, composers and lead roles. The information on film directors of each feature film builds on the data from the LUMIERE database. The names of professionals working in other roles were retrieved from the data made publicly available by IMDb. The gender of each film professional was identified and tagged by the European Audiovisual Observatory. Since information on each professional category was not equally available, different datasets were used for the analyses on the different professional roles. Number of feature films in the sample by category Role
Nr of films
% of LUMIERE sample
Directors
9 660
100%
Screenwriters
7 595
79%
Producers
6 399
66%
Cinematographers
5 014
52%
Composers
5 029
52%
Lead roles
7 688
80%
KEY FINDINGS 2016-2020
A) How are women represented among active professionals in European feature films? DIRECTORS
CINEMATOGRAPHERS
23%
10%
SCREENWRITERS
COMPOSERS
27%
9%
PRODUCERS
LEAD ROLES
33%
39%
Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
B) What is the average share of female professionals per film? DIRECTORS
CINEMATOGRAPHERS
21%
10%
SCREENWRITERS
COMPOSERS
25%
7%
PRODUCERS
LEAD ROLES
30%
38%
Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
C) What is the share of films by female-driven teams? DIRECTORS
CINEMATOGRAPHERS
20%
9%
SCREENWRITERS
COMPOSERS
18%
6%
PRODUCERS
LEAD ROLES
22%
16%
Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
DIRECTORS
1
European feature films: DIRECTORS
Women accounted for 23% of all directors of European feature films active between 2016 and 2020. On average, female directors in the sample were involved, whether alone or in partnership with other colleagues, in the direction of 23% of European feature films. However, women directed on average fewer films than men and they were less likely to be the sole directors of feature films than their male counterparts. For these reasons, the average share of female directors per film was 21% between 2016 and 2020. The share of films by female-driven* direction teams was slightly lower (20%), since when women co-directed a film, it was in most cases in collaboration with a male colleague.
* In this context “female-driven” refers to films for which women represented at least 60% of directors.
1A How are women represented among film directors? Cumulatively, women accounted for 23% of directors of European feature films active between 2016 and 2020. The share of female directors did not significantly change over the considered time period. The share was higher for documentary films than for live-action and animated fiction features.
DIRECTORS: number and share of active directors* by gender, by production year (2016-2020)**
DIRECTORS: number and share of active directors* by gender, by film genre (2016-2020)** 23%
23%
2 139
2 139
19%
1 267 29% 21%
21%
21%
24%
485
516
541
612
1 811
1 894
2 060
1 944
2016
2017
2018
2019
Male directors
Female directors
7 000
281
7 000
1 111
5 574
24%
57
2 733
16%
891
2020
All
Live-action fiction
% of female directors
Documentary
Male directors
Animation
Female directors
293
All
% of female directors
* Active director: at least one feature film (co)directed between 2016 and 2020. ** The total number of active directors does not equal the sum of active directors by year or by film type as a director may have worked on several films and film genres across the years. Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
1A How does the activity of female and male directors compare? Between 2016 and 2020, women (co)directed fewer feature films than men. The average level of activity for female directors was slightly lower than for their male counterparts: 89% of women only directed one film (compared to 83% for male directors) and only 11% worked on two or more films (compared to 17% for men). In the considered time period, each female director shot on average 1.1 films compared to 1.2 films for male directors. DIRECTORS: level of activity by gender of directors (2016-2020)
In % of directors
In number of directors 2%
4%
10%
12%
1 894
89%
83%
Female directors
Male directors
5 832 209 298 870
1 film
2 films
Male directors
Female directors
Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
≥3 films
36
1 film
2 films
≥3 films
B What is the share of feature films made by at least one female director? Female directors were involved in the direction of 23% of feature films produced between 2016 and 2020, whether alone or in teams with other colleagues. Women in the sample worked in partnership with other directors slightly more often than men. DIRECTORS: share of European feature films by at least one female (co)director (2016-2020)
DIRECTORS: breakdown of European feature films by at least one female (co)director (2016-2020)
By several directors 21%
23% 77%
Films by at least one female director
By one female director 79%
FILM DIRECTORS: breakdown of European feature films by at least one male (co)director (2016-2020) By several directors 13%
By one male director 87%
Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
B What is the average share of female directors in European feature films? When looking at the proportion of women and men among the total number of directors of each work, the average share of female directors per film was 21% between 2016 and 2020. The average share of female directors per film was higher for documentaries (28%) than for other film genres.
DIRECTORS: average share of female directors per film*, by film genre (2016-2020)
DIRECTORS: average share of female directors per film*, by production year (2016-2020)
28.3%
22.8%
20.8%
20.8% 20.8%
19.9%20.8%
23.5% 22.8%
23.5% 21.3%
19.9%
28.3%
21.3%
21.3%
17.9%
17.9%
15.8%
2016
2017 2016
2018 2017
2019 2018
2020 2019
All 2020
Live-action All fiction
Documentary Live-action Animated Documentary fiction fiction
15.8%
All Animated fiction
* Average of the shares of female directors calculated from the total number of directors for each feature film in the sample. Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
21.3%
All
B What is the average share of female directors in “debut films”? When considering debut films*, the average share of female directors per film was slightly higher (26%) than for films in general (21%).
DIRECTORS: average share of female directors per title in European debut films (2016-2020)
26% 21%
Debut films
All films
* A debut film here refers to the presumed first feature film made by a film director. In the context of this analysis, a film by multiple directors is considered a debut only if it is the first feature for all directors involved. Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
B Average share of female directors per film, by country of production The average share of female directors per film varies between 8% and 35% across Europe.
DIRECTORS: average share of female directors per film*, by country of production** (2016-2020)
30% EUR 23%
25% 20% 15% 10% 5%
AT FI NL NO SE CH DE DK HR IS LV
BA BE CY CZ EE FR HU RU BG ES GB GR IE LT PL PT RO SK IT LU MK
30% 25% 20%
15% 10%
TR SI
5%
* Average of the shares of female directors calculated from the total number of directors for each feature film in the sample. ** The country of production is here defined as the main production country of feature films, as it appears in the LUMIERE database. The analysis excludes production countries with a limited coverage in LUMIERE, since the number of films in the database might not be representative of real production volume. Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
C Feature films:What gender is the composition share of AV offiction teamsled of directors by female directors? Among European feature films produced between 2016 and 2020: 18% were directed by one individual female director Fewer than 1% were directed by several female directors 3% were directed by gender-balanced teams of directors DIRECTORS: gender composition of teams of directors in European feature films (2016-2020) Feature films by female-driven* teams of directors
By one female director 18%
By several female directors 1%
By multiple directors 11%
By one male director 70%
By several male directors 6%
By directors of both genders 4%
Mixed teams: female majority 0.2%
Mixed teams: male majority 0.4%%
Mixed teams: gender-balanced 3%
How to read this graph: 11% of feature films were directed by several directors; 4% were directed by directors of both genders; 3% were directed by gender-balanced teams of directors. * In this context, “female-driven” refers to feature films by a majority (≥ 60%) of female directors: by one individual female director; by several female directors; by teams of directors of both genders with a female presence of at least 60%. Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
C What Whatisisthe theshare shareofoffeature AV fiction films leddirected by female by female-driven directors? teams? About 20% of European feature films were signed by female-driven* teams of directors between 2016 and 2020. This can be ascribed to the fact that women were more likely to co-direct than men, and when they did, it was mostly in partnership with a male colleague. This figure was relatively stable across the years and was higher for documentary than for other film genres. DIRECTORS: share of films by gender composition of directors’ teams, by year (2016-2020)
DIRECTORS: share of films by gender composition of directors’ teams, by film genre (2016-2020) 2%
7%
3%
3%
3%
4%
4%
3%
78%
78%
79%
75%
75%
77%
81%
19%
19%
18%
21%
22%
20%
17%
12%
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
All
Live-action fiction
Documentary
Female majority
Male majority
Gender-balanced teams
6%
3%
69%
77%
25%
20%
Animation
All genres
81%
Female majority
Male majority
Gender-balanced teams
* In this context, “female-driven” refers to feature films by a majority (≥ 60%) of female directors: by one individual female director; by several female directors; by teams of directors of both genders with a female presence of at least 60%. Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
SCREENWRITERS
1
European feature films: SCREENWRITERS Women represented 27% of screenwriters of European feature films produced between 2016 and 2020. Female screenwriters were involved in the writing of 37% of European feature films, whether alone or in teams. However, when considering the female and male proportion among all screenwriters for each film, the average share of female screenwriters per film was only 25%. This can be explained by the fact that in most cases women worked as part of a team of screenwriters and they were less likely than men to be the sole writer for a film. The share of films written by female-driven teams* was only 18%, due to the fact that when women co-wrote a film, it was often within teams with a majority of male screenwriters.
* In this context “female-driven” refers to films for which women represented at least 60% of all screenwriters.
1 A How are women represented among film screenwriters? Cumulatively, women accounted for 27% of screenwriters of European feature films active between 2016 and 2020. The share of female screenwriters remained relatively stable over this time period. The share was higher for documentary (30%) films than for live-action and animated fiction features. SCREENWRITERS: number and share of active screenwriters* by gender, by production year** (2016-2020)
SCREENWRITERS: number and share of active screenwriters* by gender, by film genre** (2016-2020)
27% 2935
743
25% 762
24% 791
27% 846
2 249
2 288
2 476
2 303
25%
2016
2017
Male screenwriters
2018
2019
Female screenwriters
8 140
422
25%
27%
2669
2935
8140
8140
30%
29%
799
1 047
1825
19%
Documentary
Animation
2020
All
Live-action fiction
% of female screenwriters
Male screenwriters
96
Female screenwriters
398
All
% of female screenwriters
* Active screenwriter: at least one feature film (co)written between 2016 and 2020. ** The total number of screenwriters does not equal the sum of screenwriters by year or by film genre as an individual screenwriter may have worked on several films and film genres across the years. Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
1 A How does the activity of female and male screenwriters compare? Between 2016 and 2020 women (co)wrote fewer feature films than men. The average level of activity of individual screenwriters of European films was slightly higher for male than for female professionals. 86% of female screenwriters only worked on one feature film in the considered period, compared to 83% for their male colleagues. SCREENWRITERS: level of activity by gender of screenwriters (2016-2020) In % of screeenwriters
In number of screenwriters
2516
6 721 300 972
1 film
2 films
Male screenwriters
448
≥3 films
Female screenwriters
Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
4%
6%
10%
12%
86%
83%
Female screenwriters
Male screenwriters
119
1 film
2 films
≥3 films
B What is the share of films written by at least one female screenwriter? Women were involved, whether alone or in partnership with other colleagues, in the writing of 37% of feature films produced between 2016 and 2020. Female screenwriters tend to work in partnership with other colleagues more often than men. SCREENWRITERS: share of European feature films by at least one female (co)writer (2016-2020)
SCREENWRITERS: breakdown of European feature films by at least one female (co)writer (2016-2020) By one female screenwriter 32%
63%
37%
Films by at least one female screenwriter
SCREENWRITERS: breakdown of European feature films by at least one male (co)writer (2016-2020)
By one male screenwriter 43%
Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
By several screenwriters 68%
By several screenwriters 57%
B What is the average share of female screenwriters per film? When looking at the proportion of women and men on the total number of screenwriters of each work, the average share of female screenwriters per film was 25% between 2016 and 2020. As for film directors, the average share of female screenwriters per film was higher in documentary (31%) than other film types. SCREENWRITERS: average share of female screenwriters per film*, by production year (2016-2020) 29.3% 26.7% 24.2%
24.4% 24.2%
24.2% 24.4%
26.7%
SCREENWRITERS: average share of female screenwriters per film*, by film genre (2016-2020) 30.8%
29.3%
25.4%
24.2%
25.4% 23.9%
30.8%
25.4% 23.9%
19.2%
2016
2017 2016
2018 2017
2019 2018
2020 2019
All 2020
Live-action Documentary Animated All Live-action Documentary fiction fiction fiction
25.4%
19.2%
All Animated fiction
All
* Average of the shares of female screenwriters calculated from the total number of screenwriters for each feature film in the sample. Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
B Feature Averagefilms: shareweighted of femaleshare screenwriters film, by country of production of femaleper screenwriters by country of production The average share of female screenwriters per film varies between 13% and 39% across European countries.
SCREENWRITERS: average share of by female screenwriters per film* by country of production** (2016-2020)
35% 30% EUR 25%
25% 20% 15% 10%
AT CY NL NO DE EE FI HR
BA BE CH CZ DK FR GR HU LV PL RO SE BG ES GB PT RU SI IE IT MK LT LU SK IS TR
35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10%
* Average of the shares of female screenwriters calculated from the total number of screenwriters for each feature film in the sample. ** The country of production is here defined as the main production country of feature films, as it appears in the LUMIERE database. This analysis excludes production countries with limited coverage in LUMIERE, since the number of films in the database might not be representative of real production volume. Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
C Feature films:What gender is the composition share of AV offiction screenwriters’ led by female teamsdirectors? Among European feature films produced between 2016 and 2020: 12% were written by one individual female screenwriter; 3% were written by several female screenwriters; 2% were written by teams of professionals of both genders with a female presence of at least 60%. SCREENWRITERS: gender composition of teams of screenwriters in European feature films (2016-2020) Feature films by female-driven* teams of screenwriters
By one female screenwriter 12%
By one male screenwriter 37%
By several female screenwriters 3%
By multiple screenwriters 51%
By several male screenwriters 26%
By screenwriters of both genders 22%
Mixed teams: female majority 2% Mixed teams: genderbalanced 12%
Mixed teams: male majority 7%
How to read this graph: 51% of feature films were written by several screenwriters; 22% were written by screenwriters of both genders; 12% were written by gender-balanced teams of screenwriters. * In this context, “female-driven” refers to feature films written by a majority (≥ 60%) of female screenwriters: by one individual female screenwriter; by several female screenwriters; by teams of screenwriters of both genders with a female presence of at least 60%. Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
C What Whatisisthe theshare shareofoffeature AV fiction films ledwritten by female by female-driven directors? teams? Between 2016 and 2020 about 18% of European feature films were written by female-driven* teams of screenwriters. Given the high number of films co-written by several screenwriters, this is due to the fact that when women co-wrote a film, it was often within male-driven teams of screenwriters. This figure was relatively stable across the considered time period and tended to be higher for documentary than for other film genres. SCREENWRITERS: share of films by gender composition of screenwriters’ teams, by year (2016-2020)
SCREENWRITERS: share of films by gender composition of screenwriters’ teams, by film genre (2016-2020)
12%
12%
12%
12%
14%
12%
12%
71%
71%
71%
69%
64%
70%
72%
17%
17%
16%
19%
2016
2017
2018
2019
Female majority
Male majority
21%
2020
18%
16%
All
Live-action fiction
Gender-balanced teams
13%
14%
63% 77%
24% 9%
Documentary
Female majority
Animated fiction
Male majority
12%
70%
18%
All
Gender-balanced teams
* In this context, “female-driven” refers to feature films written by a majority (≥ 60%) of female screenwriters. They can be either written: by one individual female screenwriter; by several female screenwriters; by teams of screenwriters of both genders with a female presence of at least 60%. Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
PRODUCERS
1
European feature films: PRODUCERS Women accounted for 33% of active producers of European feature films between 2016 and 2020.
Female producers were involved in the production of 44% of European feature films, whether alone or in teams. However, on average, women tended to producer slightly fewer films than men. When calculating the share of female and male professionals out of the total number of producers for each film, the average share of female producers per film was 30%. This can be explained by the fact that in most cases women worked as part of a team of several professionals and they were less likely than men to be the sole producer for a film. The share of films produced by female-driven teams* was only 22%, due to the fact that when women co-produced a film, it was often within teams with a majority of male producers. * In this context “female-driven” refers to films for which women represented at least 60% of all producers.
1 A How are women represented among film producers? Cumulatively, women accounted for 33% of producers of European feature films active between 2016 and 2020. The share of female producers remained relatively stable over this time period. The share was higher for documentaries than for live-action and animated fiction films. PRODUCERS: number and share of active producers* by gender, by production year** (2016-2020)
PRODUCERS: number and share of active producers* by gender, by film genre** (2016-2020)
33% 25%
2164 2668
33%
29%
29%
30%
30%
705
729
814
786
1 705
1 781
2016
2017 Male producers
1 869
2018
2164
4 462
1 830
2019
Female producers
8141
30%
29% 361 892
2020
799
Live-action fiction
% of female producers
96
1825
19%
Documentary
Animated fiction
Male producers
Female producers
398
All
% of female producers
* Active producer: at least one feature film (co)produced between 2016 and 2020. ** The total number of producers does not equal the sum of producers by year or by film genre as an individual professional may have worked on several films and film genres across the years. Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
4462
1 A How does the activity of female and male producers compare? Between 2016 and 2020, women worked as (co)producers on fewer feature films than men. The average level of activity of individual producers of European films was slightly higher for male than for female professionals. 71% of female producers only worked on one feature film in the considered period, compared to 67% of their male colleagues. PRODUCERS: level of activity by gender of producers (2016-2020) In % of producers
In number of producers 12%
16%
17%
17%
1542
71%
67%
Female producers
Male producers
2975
1 film
366
256
752
735
2 films
≥3 films
Male producers
Female producers
Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
1 film
2 films
≥3 films
B What is the share of films produced by at least one woman? Female producers were involved, whether alone or in partnership with other colleagues, in the production of 44% of feature films produced between 2016 and 2020. Female producers tended to work in partnership with other colleagues slightly more often than men. PRODUCERS: share of European feature films by at least one female (co)producer (2016-2020)
44%
PRODUCERS: breakdown of European feature films by at least one female (co)producer (2016-2020)
By one female producer 34%
56%
Films by at least one female producer
PRODUCERS: breakdown of European feature films by at least one male (co)producer (2016-2020)
By one male producer 40%
Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
By several producers 66%
By several producers 60%
B What is the average share of female producers per film? When looking at the proportion of women and men on the total number of producers of each work, the average share of female producers per film was 30% between 2016 and 2020. As for other professional roles, the average share of female producers per film was higher in documentary (38%) than other film types. PRODUCERS: average share of female producers per film*, by production year (2016-2020)
PRODUCERS: average share of female producers per film*, by film genre (2016-2020) 38.3%
29.5%
2016
29.6% 29.5%
2017 2016
31.4% 29.6%
2018 2017
31.4% 30.7%
2019 2018
30.7% 29.2%
2020 2019
30.2% 29.2%
2020All
30.2% 27.6%
38.3%
30.2% 27.6%
25.7%
25.7%
Live-action Documentary Animated Animated All All Live-action Documentary fiction fiction fiction fiction
* Average of the shares of female producers calculated from the total number of producers for each feature film in the sample. Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
30.2%
All
B Feature Averagefilms: shareweighted of femaleshare producers per film, by countryby of country production of female screenwriters of production The average share of female producers per film varied between 16% and 57% across European countries.
PRODUCERS: average share of female producers per film* by country of production** (2016-2020)
EUR 30%
55% 50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15%
DK
EE LT LV RO
NO SE CH CY FI GR IE IS NL BG GB HR HU PL SI SK BA BE DE ES FR PT AT CZ IT RU
LU MK TR
55% 50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15%
* Average of the shares of female producers calculated from the total number of producers for each feature film in the sample. ** The country of production is here defined as the main production country of feature films, as it appears in the LUMIERE database. This analysis excludes production countries with limited coverage in LUMIERE, since the number of films in the database might not be representative of real production volume. Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
C Feature films:What gender is the composition share of AV offiction producers’ led by teams female directors? Among European feature films produced between 2016 and 2020: 15% had one individual female producer 3% had several female producers 3% had teams of producers of both genders with a female presence of at least 60%. PRODUCERS: gender composition of teams of producers in European feature films (2016-2020) Feature films by female-driven* teams of producers
By one female producer 15% By one male producer 33%
By multiple producers 52%
By several female producers 3%
By several male producers 24%
By producers of both genders 25%
Mixed teams: genderbalanced 14 %
Mixed teams: male majority 7%%
Mixed teams: female majority 3%
How to read this graph: 52% of feature films were signed by several producers; 25% by producers of both genders; 14% by genderbalanced teams of producers. * In this context, “female-driven” refers to feature films by a majority (≥ 60%) of female producers: by one individual female producer; by several female producers; by teams of producers of both genders with a female presence of at least 60%. Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
C What Whatisisthe theshare shareofoffeature AV fiction films ledproduced by female bydirectors? female-driven teams? Between 2016 and 2020, about 22% of European feature films had female-driven* teams of producers. Given the high number of films by several producers, this is due to the fact that when women co-produced a film, it was often within male-driven teams of producers. This figure was relatively stable across the considered time period and tended to be higher for documentary than for other film genres.
PRODUCERS: share of films by gender composition of producers’ teams, by year (2016-2020)
PRODUCERS: share of films films by gender composition of producers’ teams, by film genre (2016-2020)
15%
14%
15%
14%
14%
14%
15%
65%
65%
62%
63%
65%
64%
67%
20%
21%
23%
23%
21%
22%
19%
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2016-2020
Live-action fiction
Female majority
Male majority
Gender-balanced teams
14%
17%
55%
67%
31% 17%
Documentary Animated fiction
Female majority
Male majority
14%
64%
22%
All genres
Gender-balanced teams
* In this context, “female-driven” refers to features by a majority (≥ 60%) of female producers: by one individual female producer; by several female producers; by teams of producers of both genders with a female presence of at least 60%. Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
CINEMATOGRAPHERS
1
European feature films: CINEMATOGRAPHERS Women only accounted for 10% of all cinematographers of European feature films produced between 2016 and 2020. On average, female cinematographers in the sample were involved in the direction of photography of 11% of feature films, whether alone or in partnership with other colleagues. The direction of photography is a solitary job and most films were signed by one individual director of photography (DOP). Taking into account all cinematographers working on each title, the average share of female cinematographers per film was only 10%. The share of films with female-driven teams of cinematographers* was only 9%, due to the fact that in most cases one individual professional signed the direction of photography, and it was a man in the majority of the cases. Also, when several professionals worked on the cinematography of a film, the team of cinematographers was usually male-driven.
* In this context “female-driven” refers to films for which women represented at least 60% of all cinematographers.
1 A How are women represented among cinematographers? Cumulatively, women only accounted for 10% of cinematographers of European feature films active between 2016 and 2020. The share of female cinematographers remained relatively stable over this time period. The share was higher for documentaries than live-action and animated fiction films. CINEMATOGRAPHERS: number and share of active cinematographers* by gender, by production year** (2016-2020)
CINEMATOGRAPHERS: number and share of active cinematographers* by gender, by film genre** (2016-2020)
10% 400
10% 400
9% 334
9% 1 110
2016
114
10% 1 189
132
10% 1 194
136
11%
3 418 145
1 152
9%
12% 3 373
1 788
55
528
2017
Male cinematographers
2018
2019
Female cinematographers
2020 % of female cinematographers
3 418
247 1 8%
Live-action fiction Male cinematographers
Documentary
12
Animated fiction
Female cinematographers
% of female cinematographers
* Active cinematographer: credited for at least one feature film between 2016 and 2020. ** The total number of cinematographers does not equal the sum of cinematographers by year or by film genre as an individual cinematographer may have worked on several films and film genres across the years. Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
All
1 A How does the activity of female and male cinematographers compare? Between 2016 and 2020, women worked as cinematographers on fewer feature films than men. On average, female cinematographers worked on a similar number of feature films as men. 78% of female screenwriters only worked on one feature film in the considered period, compared to 80% of their male colleagues.
CINEMATOGRAPHERS: level of activity by gender of cinematographers (2016-2020) In % of cinematographers
In number of cinematographers
6%
6%
16%
14%
78%
80%
Female cinematographers
Male cinematographers
302
2496
53
1 film
509
23 206
2 films
≥3 films
Male cinematographers
Female cinematographers
Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
1 film
2 films
≥3 films
B What is the share of films signed by at least one female cinematographer? Female cinematographers were involved, whether alone or in partnership with other colleagues, in the making of 11% of feature films produced between 2016 and 2020. The vast majority of feature films (89%) were signed by one individual director of photography. Female cinematographers tended to work in partnership with other colleagues more often than men. CINEMATOGRAPHERS: share of European feature films by at least one female cinematographer (2016-2020)
CINEMATOGRAPHERS: breakdown of European feature films by at least one female cinematographer (2016-2020) By several cinematographers 25%
11%
By one female cinematographer 75%
89%
Films by at least one female cinematographer
CINEMATOGRAPHERS: breakdown of European feature films by at least one male cinematographer (2016-2020) By several cinematographers 11% By one male cinematographer 89%
Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
B What is the average share of female cinematographers per film? When looking at the proportion of women and men out of the total number of cinematographers of each work, the average share of female professionals per film was 10% between 2016 and 2020. As observed for other professional categories, this share was higher in documentary (11%) than other film genres. CINEMATOGRAPHERS: average share of female cinematographers per film*, by production year (2016-2020)
CINEMATOGRAPHERS: average share of female cinematographers per film*, by film genre (2016-2020) 11.5%
10.5% 10.0%
10.0% 9.5%
10.5% 9.8% 9.5%
9.6%
9.8%
9.6%
8.9% 8.4%
2016
2016 2018
2017 2019
2018 2020
2019 All
Live-action 2020 fiction
9.6% 8.9% 8.3%
8.4%
2017
11.5%
Documentary All
Live-action Animated fiction
9.6% 8.3%
Documentary All
Animated fiction
All
* Average of the shares of female professionals calculated from the total number of cinematographers for each feature film in the sample. Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
B Feature Averagefilms: shareweighted of femaleshare cinematographers per film, byby country ofof production of female screenwriters country production The average share of female cinematographers per film varied between 1% and 25% across European countries.
CINEMATOGRAPHERS: average share of films of female cinematographers per film* by country of production** (2016-2020)
25%
EUR 10%
20% 15% 10% 5% 0%
SE
25%
IS
20% 15% 10% 5% 0%
AT DK BE CH DE ES FI FR GR IE MK NO BA GB HU IT LU LV PL PT RO RU SK BG CZ EE NL TR
* Average of the shares of female professionals calculated from the total number of cinematographers for each feature film in the sample. ** The country of production is here defined as the main production country of feature films, as it appears in the LUMIERE database. This analysis excludes production countries with limited coverage in LUMIERE, since the number of films in the database might not be representative of real production volume. Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
C Feature films:What Gender is the composition share of AVoffiction cinematographers’ led by femaleteams directors? Among European feature films produced between 2016 and 2020: 8% were signed by one individual female cinematographer 0.3% were signed by several female cinematographers 0.2% were signed by teams of cinematographers of both genders with a female presence of at least 60%. CINEMATOGRAPHERS: gender composition of teams of cinematographers in European feature films (2016-2020) Feature films by female-driven* teams of cinematographers
By one female cinematographer 8%
By multiple screenwriters 11%
By one male cinematographer 81%
By several female cinematographers 0.3%
By several male cinematographers By 8% cinematographers of both genders 3%
Mixed teams: female majority 0.2% Mixed teams: male majority 1%% Mixed teams: gender-balanced 2%
How to read this graph: 11% of feature films were signed by several cinematographers; 3% were by cinematographers of both genders; 1% were by gender-balanced teams of cinematographers. * In this context, “female-driven” refers to feature films by a majority (≥ 60%) of female cinematographers: by one individual female cinematographer; by several female cinematographers; by teams of cinematographers of both genders with a female presence of at least 60%. Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
C What Whatisisthe theshare shareofoffilms AV fiction by female-driven led by female teams directors? of cinematographers? Between 2016 and 2020, about 9% of European feature films were signed by female-driven* teams of cinematographers. Most films were signed by one individual cinematographer. However, when multiple professionals worked on the photography of a film, the cinematographers’ team was in most cases led by men. This figure was relatively stable across the considered time period and tended to be similar across different film genres. CINEMATOGRAPHERS: share of films by gender composition of cinematographers’ teams, by year (2016-2020)
CINEMATOGRAPHERS: share of films by gender composition of cinematographers’ teams, by film genre (2016-2020)
2%
1%
2%
2%
0.5%
2%
1%
4%
91%
89%
90%
88%
41%
90%
91%
87%
92%
90%
7%
9%
9%
9%
4%
9%
8%
9%
8%
9%
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2016-2020
Live-action fiction
Female majority
Male majority
Gender-balanced teams
2%
Documentary Animated fiction
Female majority
Male majority
All genres
Gender-balanced teams
* In this context, “female-driven” refers to feature films by a majority (≥ 60%) of female cinematographers: by one individual female cinematographer; by several female cinematographers; by teams of cinematographers of both genders with a female presence of at least 60%. Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
COMPOSERS
1
European feature films – COMPOSERS Women represented only 9% of music composers active in European feature films between 2016 and 2020.
Female composers worked on 9% of European feature films, whether alone or in teams. On average, female composers worked on fewer films than men. When calculating the female and male presence out of the total number of composers per film, the average share of female composers per film was only 7%. Only 6% of feature films in the sample had a female-driven team* of composers. This can be explained by the fact that women were less likely than men to be the sole composer for a film. Furthermore, when female composers worked in teams, it was in most cases in partnership with a male colleague.
* In this context “female-driven” refers to films for which women represented at least 60% of all producers.
1 A How are women represented among film composers? Cumulatively, 9% of composers active in European feature films between 2016 and 2020 were women. This share remained relatively stable over this time period. As observed for other professional categories, the female share was higher for documentaries than for live-action and animated fiction films. COMPOSERS: number and share of active composers* by gender, by production year** (2016-2020)
COMPOSERS: number and share of active composers* by gender, by film genre** (2016-2020) 7%
9% 353
7%
6% 1 188
79
8%
1 318
8% 107
101 1 318
103 1 216
11% 507
2016
2017
Male composers
2018
2019
Female composers
9% 162
3 690
286
9% 353
3 890
3 690
1 563
2
60
2020
2%
Live-action fiction
% of female composers
Documentary
Male composers
94
Animated fiction
Female composers
All
% of female composers
* Active composer: worked on at least one feature film between 2016 and 2020. ** The total number of composers does not equal the sum of composers by year or by film genre as an individual professional may have worked on several films and film genres across the years. Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
1 A How does the activity of female and male composers compare? Between 2016 and 2020, women worked as composers on fewer feature films than men. The average level of activity of individual producers of European films was slightly higher for male than for female professionals. 82% of female producers only worked on one feature film in the considered period, compared to 77% of their male colleagues. COMPOSERS: level of activity by gender of producers (2016-2020) In % of composers
In number of composers
10%
291
6% 11%
2 832
82%
77%
Female composers
Male composers
40
1 film
488
22 370
2 films
≥3 films
Male composers
Female composers
Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
1 film
13%
2 films
≥3 films
B What is the share of films signed by at least one female composer? Female composers worked, whether alone or in partnership with other colleagues, on only 9% of feature films produced between 2016 and 2020. Female composers tended to work in partnership with other colleagues more often than men. COMPOSERS: share of European feature films by at least one female composer (2016-2020)
COMPOSERS: breakdown of European feature films by at least one female composer (2016-2020)
By several composers 33%
9% 91%
Films by at least one female composer
By one female composer 68%
COMPOSERS: breakdown of European feature films by at least one male composer (2016-2020)
By several composers 68%
By one male composer 83%
Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
B What is the average share of female composers per film? When considering the proportion of women and men out of the total number of composers of each work, the average share of female professionals per film was 7% between 2016 and 2020. This share was higher in documentary (9%) than other film types.
COMPOSERS: average share of female composers per film*, by production year (2016-2020)
COMPOSERS: average share of female composers per film*, by film genre (2016-2020)
10.4%
10.4%
9.3%
9.3% 7.9%
7.9%
6.0%
7.3%
7.3%
7.0%
7.0% 6.9%
6.9%
6.7%
6.0%
2.3%
2016
7.3%
7.3% 6.7%
2017 2016
2018 2017
2019 2018
2020 2019
All 2020
All Live-action fiction
Live-action Animated Documentary Documentary fiction fiction
2.3%
AllAnimated fiction
* Average of the shares of female composers calculated from the total number of composers for each feature film in the sample.. Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
All
B Feature Averagefilms: shareweighted of femaleshare composers per film, by countrybyofcountry production of female screenwriters of production The average share of female producers per film varied between 2% and 16% across European countries.
COMPOSERS: average share of female composers per film* by country of production** (2016-2020)
15% EUR 7%
10%
SE AT DE FI GB GR IS LT LU RO
15% 10%
5%
BG CH DK ES FR LV NL NO PL RU TR
5%
0%
BE CZ EE HU HR IE IT PT SI
0%
* Average of the shares of female composers calculated from the total number of composers for each feature film in the sample. ** The country of production is here defined as the main production country of feature films, as it appears in the LUMIERE database. This analysis excludes production countries with limited coverage in LUMIERE, since the number of films in the database might not be representative of real production volume. Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
C Feature films:What Gender is the composition share of AVoffiction composers’ led byteams female directors? Among European feature films produced between 2016 and 2020: 6% were signed by one individual female composer 0.1% by several female composers 0.02% by teams of composers of both genders with a female presence of at least 60% COMPOSERS: gender composition of teams of composers in European feature films (2016-2020) Feature films by female-driven* teams of composers
By one female composer 6%
By multiple composers 16%
By one male composer 78%
By several female composers 0.1%
By composers Mixed teams: female majority of both 0.02% genders 3%
By several male composers 13%
Mixed teams: male majority 0.6%
Mixed teams: gender-balanced 2.2%
How to read this graph: 16% of feature films were signed by several composers; 3% by composers of both genders; 0.6% by genderbalanced teams of composers. * In this context, “female-driven” refers to feature films by a majority (≥ 60%) of female composers: by one individual female composer; by several female composers; by teams of composers of both genders with a female presence of at least 60%. Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
C What Whatisisthe theshare shareofoffeature AV fiction films ledsigned by female by female-driven directors? teams of composers? Between 2016 and 2020, about 22% of European feature films had female-driven* teams of producers. Given the high number of films by several producers, this is due to the fact that when women co-produced a film, it was often within male-driven teams of producers. This figure was relatively stable across the considered time period and tended to be higher for documentary than for other film genres. COMPOSERS: share of films by gender composition of composers’ teams, by year (2016-2020) 2%
3%
2%
2%
2%
2%
94%
92%
92%
91%
89%
5%
5%
6%
7%
2016
2017
2018
2019
Female majority
Male majority
COMPOSERS: share of films by gender composition of composers’ teams, by film genre (2016-2020) 2%
3%
92%
93%
89%
9%
6%
6%
8%
2020
2016-2020
Live-action fiction
Documentary
Gender-balanced teams
Female majority
2%
92%
98%
2%
Animated fiction
Male majority
6%
All genres
Gender-balanced teams
* In this context, “female-driven” refers to features by a majority (≥ 60%) of female composers: by one individual female composer; by several female composers; by teams of composers of both genders with a female presence of at least 60%. Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
LEAD ROLES
1
European feature films – LEAD ROLES This section builds on information made available by IMDb, including the names of the actors and actresses appearing in the main roles for each film. These data also include the professionals involved in the dubbing of animated features as well as the protagonists of documentary films. Women accounted for 39% of all actors appearing in at least one lead role in a European feature film between 2016 and 2020.
The vast majority of European films (83%) featured at least one female lead role. However, when considering the share of each gender out of the total number of lead roles per film, the average female share per film was only 38%. Most feature films (79%) had a gender-mixed main cast which was mainly maledriven or gender-balanced. Only 16% of feature films in the sample had femaledriven teams* for lead roles.
* In this context “female-driven” refers to films for which women represented at least 60% of the main cast.
1 A How are women represented among leading actors in feature films? Between 2016 and 2020, 39% of all professionals playing a lead role in European films were women. The share of actresses remained relatively stable over this time period. The share was higher for live-action fiction films than for other film genres. LEAD ROLES: number and share of active actors / actresses* in a lead role, by production year** (2016-2020)
LEAD ROLES: number and share of active actors / actresses* in a lead role, by film genre** (2016-2020) 39% 40%
5 789 9 900 39%
38% 2 493 4 132 2016
38%
38%
39%
2 576
2 723
2 662
4 201 2017
Male roles
4 374
5 789
42% 1 345 1 873
4 127
2018
Female roles
2019
2020
% of female roles
9 193
31%
14 565
274
1 625 3 616
Live-action fiction Documentary Male roles
34%
526
Animated fiction
Female roles
9 193
All
% of female roles
* Active actor/actress: Played in at least one feature film in a lead role between 2016 and 2020; Includes professionals involved in the dubbing of animation films, and protagonists of documentary films. ** The total number of active actors / actresses does not equal the sum of professionals by year or by film genre as an individual person may have worked on several films and film genres across the years. Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
1 A How does the activity of leading actresses and actors compare? On average, female and male professionals acted in a similar number of films between 2016 and 2020. The levels of activity of professionals appearing in a lead role in European films were similar for actors and actresses.
LEAD ROLES: level of activity by gender of professionals (2016-2020) In % of actor / actresses
In number of actors / actresses
6 968
8% 11%
8% 11%
81%
82%
Female
Male
11 113 949
706
1 432
1 film
2 films Male
Female
Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
≥3 films
1 082
1 film
2 films
≥3 films
B What is the share of films with at least one female lead role? Between 2016 and 2020, 83% of European films featured at least one female lead role.
LEAD ROLES: share of European feature films with at least one female lead role (2016-2020)
LEAD ROLES: breakdown of European feature films with at least one female lead role (2016-2020) Films with one female lead role 2%
17%
83% FIlms with several lead roles 98%
Films with at least one female lead role
LEAD ROLES: breakdown of European feature films with at least one male lead role (2016-2020) Films with one male lead role 3%
Films with several lead roles 97%
Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
B What is the average share of female lead roles per film? When considering the proportion of female and male roles out of the total number of lead roles for each film, the average share of female roles per film was 38% between 2016 and 2020. The average share of female lead roles per film was higher for live-action fiction films (41%) than for other film types.
LEAD ROLES: average share of female lead roles per film*, by production year (2016-2020) 42.1% 37.4%
37.6% 37.4%
37.7% 37.6%
39.1% 37.7%
39.1%
LEAD ROLES: average share of female lead roles per film*, by film genre (2016-2020) 42.1% 38.4%
40.6% 38.4%
40.6%
30.9%
2016
2017 2016
2018 2017
2019 2018
2020 2019
2020All
38.4% 33.7% 30.9%
Live-action Documentary Animated All Live-action Documentary fiction fiction fiction
33.7%
All Animated fiction
* Average of the shares of female roles calculated from the total number of lead roles for each feature film in the sample. Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
38.4%
All
B Feature Averagefilms: shareweighted of femaleshare lead roles per film, by countryby of country production of female screenwriters of production The average share of female lead roles per film varied between 23% and 45% across European countries.
LEAD ROLES: average share of female lead roles per film*, by country of production** (2016-2020)
IS
EUR 38%
45% AT CZ DE ES FR GR LU NL PL PT SE 40% BE DK FI GB HR HU IE IT LT LV NO RU SK TR 35% BG CH CY EE MK RO SI 30% 25% BA 20%
45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20%
* Average of the shares of female roles calculated from the total number of lead roles for each feature film in the sample. ** The country of production is here defined as the main production country of feature films, as it appears in the LUMIERE database. This analysis excludes production countries with limited coverage in LUMIERE, since the number of films in the database might not be representative of real production volume. Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
C Feature films:What Gender is the composition share of AVoffiction main cast led by female directors? Among European feature films produced between 2016 and 2020: 95% had a main cast including more than one lead role 79% had a gender-mixed main cast 33% had a gender-balanced main cast LEAD ROLES: gender composition of main cast of European feature films (2016-2020) Feature films by female-driven* main cast
One female lead role 2%
One male lead role 3%
Several lead roles 95%
Several male lead roles 14%
Female and male lead roles 79%
Mixed teams: female majority 12%
Several female lead roles 3%
Mixed teams: genderbalanced 33%
Mixed teams: male majority 34%
* In this context, “female-driven” refers to a feature with a majority (≥ 60%) of female lead roles: one individual female lead role; several female lead roles; a main cast of both genders with a female presence of at least 60%. Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
C What Whatisisthe theshare shareofoffeature AV fiction films ledwith by female a female-driven directors?main cast? Between 2016 and 2020, about 16% of European feature films had a female-driven* main cast. This figure was relatively stable across the considered time period and tended to be higher for documentary than for other film genres. However, the share of films with a gender-balanced main cast was higher in live-action fiction films (37%) than for other film types. LEAD ROLES: share of films by gender composition of main cast, by year (2016-2020)
LEAD ROLES: share of films by gender composition of main cast, by film genre (2016-2020)
18% 33%
32%
33%
33%
34%
33%
37%
52%
52%
51%
50%
46%
51%
46%
15%
16%
16%
17%
20%
16%
16%
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2016-2020
Live-action fiction
65%
Female majority
Male majority
Gender-balanced teams
17%
26%
33%
61%
51%
13%
16%
Documentary Animated fiction
Female majority
Male majority
All genres
Gender-balanced teams
* In this context, “female-driven” refers to features with a majority (≥ 60%) of female lead roles: one individual female lead role; several female lead roles; a main cast of both genders with a female presence of at least 60%. Source: European Audiovisual Observatory / LUMIERE
More information: www.obs.coe.int
patrizia.simone@coe.int