Female Voice In the Film Industry

Describe their approach to film making and explain their role as author or auteur. relates to auteur theory and author. How does the artist or filmmaker explain their work and their process? 
How are the works and artist or filmmaker received? How are they critiqued?

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In today's mainstream culture, there aren't too many female film directors. Only 4 has been nominated so far for an Oscar but only one has won. Comparing the statistics of women who graduate with film degrees and the percentage of women who actually enter the industry is confusing and mind-boggling. According to an article on the Guardian, Martha Lauzen, a professor at Sand Diego State University found that only" 9% of Hollywood directors were women," the same number she found a decade ago. There hasn't been much progress.

More troubling is the fact that not many women minorities are being represented in the industry. In a news search for top female directors, the IMDB List for 'The Coolest Female Film Directors' popped up. It was created last year in 2011 by Tamara Narchiti as a ranking list. Of everyone mentioned, only 2 in the top 50 were not white. This is troubling for two possible reasons. Either the Ms. Narchiti is not aware/ a fan of the work minorities produce or there are actually very few minorities producing films/ getting widespread attention for it. 

When all the head executives and producers in the industry are men and they dictate what films should be made, how will there be progress? 

Finally in 2010, Kathryn Bigelow won the Oscars, becoming the first woman to do so. It was a rare and historic moment that'll be talked about for many years to come. Although when she was presented with the award, there have been negative criticisms saying she only received the award because she was a female. Sigourney Weaver, an outspoken actress who starred in James Cameron's Avatar said frustratingly, "James Cameron did not win the Oscar for Best Director because he "didn't have breasts." That moment was hard to see especially since Sigourney is a female.

Lone Scherfig on the set of One Day

On a more hopeful side, more female directors have been given more attention in the media lately. One of them being Lone Scherfig, a female director from Copenhagen, Denmark. Some of the more popular films have been An Education and One Day, both focuses on love and the relationship between a man and a woman. Lone Scherfig's work tends to stray more towards independent, character-driven films. Although, she still does cast A-List actors for the roles (Anne Hathaway, Carey Mulligan, Stuart Miller).


HER REACTION/ HOW SHE TALKS ABOUT HER WORK:

In an interview with Movies Ireland she said "a lot of the movies I like or love the most have love stories built in either as the main theme or subplots and I find it hard sometimes to see a film that does not have love and humor in it."

In another interview with Empire Magazine, she is asked why she chose this film after her huge success and recognition for An Education. She responds by saying she thinks it's interesting to see it discusses present values, how you treat other people, your family" (moral) every young person is in.

SOURCES:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/jan/31/female-film-makers
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/aug/28/one-day-david-nicholls-review
http://movies.nytimes.com/2011/08/19/movies/one-day-directed-by-lone-scherfig-review.html?_r=1&
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/one-day-lone-scherfig-108-mins-12abrconan-the-barbarian-marcus-nispel-112-mins-15-2344950.html
http://movieline.com/2011/08/19/review-one-day-feels-more-like-20-years/
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2010/04/13/sigourney-weaver-kathryn-bigelow-oscar-breasts-james-cameron/