Factual directors blast ‘deep-seated inequality’ following male-heavy Bafta nominations
A group of 150 female factual filmmakers have joined together to demand “swift, definitive action” after the Bafta nominations list once again skewed heavily towards white, male directors.
In an open letter from the We Are Doc Women collective, the group blamed the “manifestation of deep-seated inequality within the TV industry”, pointing out that no woman has ever won a Bafta for best factual director, and no BAME woman has ever been nominated.
The group acted after seeing this year’s Bafta TV/Craft nominations list, which features no female directors in the best factual director category.
This is despite three best single doc nominees from women: BBC2’s David Harewood: Psychosis and Me (Wendie Ottewill), Channel 5’s The Abused (Barbie MacLaurin) and Channel 4’s The Family Secret (Anna Hall).
According to the letter, almost three-quarters of the Bafta TV and Craft nominees across all factual categories are for programmes directed by men, while BAME women make up just 1% of the list.
“This is symptomatic of the lack of opportunity for women and people of colour, who are rarely in line for the high-profile projects destined for potentially career changing award nominations,” said the letter.
“When the majority of the content is being filtered through a prism which excludes so many sections of our community, it is not reflective of the world in which we live.”
The letter concluded by calling for “swift, definitive action” from the industry, delivering an “urgent call for systemic change” and calling on people in positions of power to take up the fight.
Coming off the back of a week of protests after the death of George Floyd, the letter also cited how broadcasters and indies had been “quick to make bold statements about supporting female filmmakers” in light of the #MeToo and #TimesUp campaign, but long-term change is yet to materialise.
“Rather than improving, the situation for diverse production talent is getting worse,” it added.
“Today, women and all minority filmmakers struggle to appear on broadcasters’ unofficial lists of ‘approved directors’.
“An unconscious bias means not only that white male directors dominate, but feeds into the age-old myth that this group offers greater creative vision.”
The moves comes a few days after Storyville chief Mandy Chang issued a call for better support to women looking to make ambitious, big-budget docs and as new Bafta chair Krishnendu Majumdar writes to members promising that its “wide-ranging” review of its awards organisations’ membership, nomination and voting processes are “unequivocally and actively anti-racist”.
A Bafta spokeswoman said: “While we can see progress in many areas of the Television Awards nominations, there are others where significantly more is required.
“The Awards Review we announced earlier this year will scrutinise this, and we welcome input from the We Are Doc Women collective and the broader industry as part of this process.
”We have also been piloting Diversity Standards for the Awards this year, with a view to formal implementation from 2021 onwards.”
The letter in full:
A Call for Urgent Change to the British TV Industry From ’We Are Doc Women’
Last week BAFTA announced this year’s TV Awards nominations for programming and the craft of programme-making. For the second year in succession not a single woman was nominated in the Best Factual Director category, despite three single documentaries nominated this year being directed by women.
In the entire 13-year history of BAFTA’s Factual Director category, no woman has ever won and no Black, Asian or Ethnic Minority woman has even been nominated.
These BAFTA nominations, we contend, are the manifestation of deep-seated inequality within the TV industry. They are symptomatic of the lack of opportunity for women and people of colour, who are rarely in line for the high-profile projects destined for potentially career changing award nominations.
With 75% of ALL television in the UK being directed by men, and only 2.3% by BAME directors, we are failing our industry and we are failing our audiences who are denied access to a diversity of voices.
The British media prides itself on telling the stories of who our society is today, but with these figures that is patently impossible. When the majority of the content is being filtered through a prism which excludes so many sections of our community it is not reflective of the world in which we live.
Our industry has an entrenched bias that is unacceptable and requires fundamental change. We are calling for that change now. We find ourselves at a pivotal moment in history, a moment that demands the fair representation of society as a whole. Recent global protests about racism provide pressing evidence that to have a well-functioning society, diverse voices need to be heard and diverse stories need be told.
Documentaries exert a huge influence on everyday society, and the role of directors as storytellers is fundamental to this. This is why it’s crucial that directors reflect the audiences they serve. As our audiences are brave enough to be making a stand in the world – calling for change – making change happen – we need to be brave enough to reflect this change from within. But for once this change needs to be real.
“An unconscious bias means not only that white male directors dominate, but feeds into the age-old myth that this group offers greater creative vision.”
Following the uprising of the #MeToo and #TimesUp campaigns, broadcasters and production companies were quick to make bold statements about supporting female filmmakers, pledging schemes to help increase their opportunities. In recent years, the spotlight also turned to diversity, with pledges being made about diversity charters and a recognition of the need to include all the under-represented voices, whether people of colour, people from working-class backgrounds, people with disabilities or those who are LGBTQI. Yet rather than improving, the situation for diverse production talent is getting worse2.
Today women and all minority filmmakers struggle to appear on broadcasters’ unofficial lists of ‘approved directors’. We don’t, we are told, exist in sufficient numbers, that we lack experience and ambition. There are plenty of us however, talented and experienced, hungry for opportunity. But an unconscious bias means not only that white male directors dominate, but feeds into the age-old myth that this group offers greater creative vision. Meanwhile many talented female producers who play a vital role in factual TV are hugely undervalued by comparison.
This is why we can no longer accept the lip service. Why we can no longer rely on the suggestion of progression through a multitude of schemes, initiatives and networking events that have led to no real change when it comes to decisions about who gets to direct.
We now need swift, definitive action from the broadcasters and streamers, commissioners and production companies – from both men and women in positions of power - by compulsion if necessary. This is not just a woman’s fight. This is not just a BAME fight. This is not just a fight for minorities. This is a fight for everyone to take part in, including our male counterparts. This is an urgent call for systemic change, change that will finally provide equality and opportunity for all. It is the only way our industry can thrive and survive, and it is the responsibility of all of us to effect this change.
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