Let's talk numbers for a minute.
Of the 100 top grossing films in 2014, only 12% had a female protagonist. Those 100 films featured 4,610 speaking characters — only 30% of them were female. And, if you consider every single film released in 2014, a mere 7% were directed by a woman.
And remember, 50.8% of the U.S. population in 2014 was female.
That's not representation by any measure.
That's particularly sad when you consider that in 2013, female-led movies made 20% more money on average than those with male leads. Or the fact that movies that passed the Bechdel Test (the admittedly flawed representation check that logs whether or not two women speak to each other about something other than men) earned 6 cents more per dollar than films with less than two women.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is finally starting to take note, recently pledging to double its number of female and minority members by 2020. But that's not enough.
We need more women working on and starring in films, starting at the top. When women are hired as directors and producers, women get hired as cinematographers, writers, and actors as well. And, that's where R29's ShatterBox Anthology comes in.
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We are giving 12 female newcomers and veteran filmmakers the chance to change the total lack of representation on-screen and behind the camera in the film industry. Filmmakers such as Gabourey Sidibe, Chloë Sevigny, and Kristen Stewart are changing the way we see gender, sexuality, choice, and power from the rarely viewed female gaze.
#DearHollywood: Let's get leading ladies seen and heard.
Enjoy the trailer for the ShatterBox Anthology short film Watching You Watching Me by director Pamela Romanowsky.
Women accounted for only 13% of the directors on the 700 top grossing films in 2014 — and only 7% of the top 250 films. Refinery29 wants to change this by giving 12 female directors a chance to claim their power. Our message to Hollywood? You can't win without women. Watch new films every month on Refinery29.com/Shatterbox and Comcast Watchable.
Women accounted for only 13% of the directors on the 700 top grossing films in 2014 — and only 7% of the top 250 films. Refinery29 wants to change this by giving 12 female directors a chance to claim their power. Our message to Hollywood? You can't win without women. Watch new films every month on Refinery29.com/Shatterbox and Comcast Watchable.