Of the fall's 13 fictional feature films, only two have been directed by women, and all of the screenplays are written by men. In addition, only two of the films feature women.
Magdalena Jangard is the director of production support at the Swedish Film Institute. She believes that autumn's statistics should be seen as a temporary weakness.
- One reason may be that there has been an increased production of TV drama, we see that many established female directors and screenwriters are currently working on TV series.
Fewer women are seeking film supportAnother reason, says Magdalena Jangard, is that fewer women apply for production support from the Swedish Film Institute. About a third of the script that comes in is authored by women, often it is also projects of smaller size.
- We have noticed that women rarely write for projects with a larger budget and audience, thus they do not have access to the same resources as men. That is why we have made a commitment to female screenwriters who want to make big films, but it will take a few years to make big productions so the result we may see 2021-2022.
SFI has talked a lot about and invested in gender equality, and trained the consultants who decide who gets film support. Shouldn't the work have resulted in there not being such a "weak"?
- Well, of course we would have liked to see better results. But you have to remember that it is a long-term job, we are working on old structures that need to be changed. We continue and I also think the industry is with us, so I am hopeful for the future.