SOMETIMES MEN DO A LOT MORE FOR WOMEN THAN WE GIVE THEM CREDIT FOR
How do we ensure gender equality in filmmaking? How do we empower women in filmmaking? Do we make a special award for women? Do we create special festivals only for women? And how do we encourage filmmakers to empower women through their movies? Being a judge of an online film festival showed me that sometimes men do a lot more for women than we give them credit for.
“If we truly want to achieve equality in filmmaking, we have to be very careful and give women the chance to win the regular awards too,” said Roy Zafrani film director and the director of the Festigious short film festival a few weeks ago as we talked. I was immediately bought by his approach to women, to the industry, and of course, to movies. Little did I know then that he would ask me to join his judging team and give me the honoring, yet so heavy, responsibility of nominating three movies as winners in three distinct categories:
He asked me not to apply positive discrimination – as the more diplomatic world would call it. But what he really asked me was not to nominate a movie only because it was directed by a woman. I bowed before his request – not only because he asked me to do so, but also because I owed this to us, women; to be treated equally.
Which films did Virag select and why? Find out in the full article
Virag Gulyas is the founder of MissCareerLess, and has been a part of Festigious judging team.
