The film and TV industry currently operates under a climate of fear, scarcity, and pressure that stifles creativity and forces stakeholders to change tried and tested formulas instead of taking chances with new voices or unconventional narratives, according to a comprehensive new report by the anti-racism think tank European Film (ARTEF).
Titled “A New Europe Must Emerge: The Power of Reimagining, People and Cinema in European Cinema,” ARTEF’s report was presented at this year’s Gothenburg Film Festival. Producer Victoria Thomas and academic Dr Regina Mosch commissioned the report and compiled the information through interviews with stakeholders from across the European film industry, including producers, journalists, film sponsors, award bodies and filmmakers.
The report states that a series of confounding issues, such as widespread budget cuts, technological disruption, the dominance of streamers, and economic instability, have caused a sense of fear and doom throughout the industry. A good example of how this shapes the outcome of the industry, according to the report, is the way film festivals work.
The report says that film festivals operate under great pressure and fear for their survival. The report says: “This concern creates a tension between risk management and risk aversion, where festivals often prefer to choose safe programs, which may conflict with the goal of finding new voices.”
Film festivals “must evolve in an industry characterized by rapid change and the evolution of traditional release windows,” the report concluded.
This report offers several recommendations to address these current concerns. For pubic sponsors, the report advocates creating different ways to sponsor new people “so that they don’t compete directly with established companies with existing relationships and market access.”
Scroll below for the full industry-wide recommendations provided by ARTEF. The anti-racism think tank was founded in 2020 and works with funding organizations and film festivals across Europe. Tank tank is currently led by a steering committee of volunteers, including producer and director Filson Ali, director Veronique Doumbé, producer Helene Granqvist, producer Emile Hertling Péronard, and director Johanna Makabi, as well as Mosch and Thomas.
Key Recommendations:
- Reframe conversations about representation to focus beyond screen appearances again
investigate inclusion in all parts of the value chain and at all higher levels. - Rethink cultural definitions of success and traditional approaches to market. In the meantime
The system was developed over seventy years ago and, while flexible at the time, it can be demanding
evolving to better serve physicians and audiences today. - Map and track the impact of diversity programs on stakeholders and the industry as a whole,
carefully considering the differences that exist between the diversity of participation and
inclusion in decision making and power sharing. - Watch out for those words like ‘racialized minorities’, ‘BIPOC,’ BAME’ ‘People of color’
‘Ethnic Minerals’ ‘Minority Ethnic’, while a useful abbreviation, covers many ethnicities
an identity that has not always faced the same challenges. A crossroads within something
communities must also be considered in any discussion about racial equality. - Industry stakeholders should liaise with film schools to promote intellectual diversity,
curriculum and student employment, recognizing that change at this basic level can
have a long-term impact on the entire ecosystem. - Support niche circuits that already do the work of finding and connecting with employees
an audience that mainstream institutions do not reach. - Although it is effective to use existing organizations to manage panels and provide consultants or
programming and talent coaches, imagine what these networks might have
taste and as long as you allow their gate keeping. Various sources. - Create targeted interventions that close identified gaps, ideally through open calls
transparency in how selection is made followed by an impact audit.
