By Karen Fredericks
SYDNEY — In Production, the first national gathering of Women in Film and Television, was held at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School in Sydney on the weekend of September 26 and 27. Opening addresses to the conference stressed the need for women in the film and television industries to be bold, and not to underestimate their abilities and potential if they are ever to turn around the existing male dominance in both media.
Women in Film and Television (WIFT) groups exist in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia. The groups provide support for women working in the industry, in both creative and technical fields, and encourage increased participation by women with aspirations to enter either film or TV. They also hold screenings, run training sessions, lobby for funding and campaign against sexism in the media.
"The continuing under-representation of women directors, screenwriters, cinematographers and editors in Australia is clearly most unsatisfactory", said Hilary Glow, manager of the Women's Program at the Australian Film Commission, at the opening session. "It is vital that we work towards greater levels of access and participation for women, particularly in the creative areas. We must ensure that we, along with men, are setting the cultural agenda."
Glow, like others on the opening "Setting the Scene" panel, stressed the need for women to become familiar with and proficient in the use of new technologies such as fibre optics and interactive television. She also called for an assumption of self-confidence by women, even if it is not yet felt, because, she said, the existing industry responds only to individuals who sell themselves and their ideas.
"In an industry which seems to value 'salesmanship' highly, and I use this gendered term advisedly, it is clearly to our disadvantage not to develop skills such as 'fronting up' and negotiation. Women in both film and television need to develop boldness or chutzpah. Without these qualities, less skilled and less qualified male colleagues get the jobs ahead of us.
"For example, while applicants for the Victorian College of Art Film and Television School are more likely to gain entry on their second or third attempt, female applicants tend not to reapply after their first rejection. At the other end of the scale, there is also evidence that senior women producers lack confidence when it comes to pitching project ideas to the programmers."
The director of Film Victoria, Jennifer Hookes, told the conference that although the major TV networks had realised that women are at least half the viewing audience, and that programs of interest to women rate extremely well, they had not made the connection between this fact and the creative involvement of women in television
Lyn Bayonas, a successful producer in commercial television, told of a female friend employed in television as a script editor who really did the work of a producer. Unhappy with receiving less credit and less pay than her male counterparts, the woman demanded a production credit and a pay increase and accompanied this demand with a threat that if her requirements were not met, she would walk away from the production. The network doubled her pay immediately and changed her title to "producer". In the following week a man was hired, at the same (increased) salary as Bayonas' friend, and she was requested to train him in production work.
As well as the exchange of information, such as this story of one woman's experience, the WIFT conference included screenings of members' films, workshops on deal making, community video, cultural politics, writing and cinematography.
In Production will be followed by a two-day convention, on September 28 and 29, at which delegates will discuss the logistics of setting up a national WIFT structure. (The state-based groups have previously operated independently.)
Gina Roncoli, Sydney WIFT public relations officer, said, "... the aim of the convention is to create a cohesive voice for women to lobby and campaign in the national industry".