New database promoting female talent launched at Cannes

"'Where are all the women?' We are here"

by Jennie Kermode

Women remain underrepresented right across the film industry
Women remain underrepresented right across the film industry Photo: Beegaia

A new database aimed at making it easy for studios and filmmakers to find female talent in pre-production, production and post-production is being launched today at the Cannes Film Festival. "To change the conversation onscreen we need to change the conversation behind the screen," said its founder Victoria Emslie in an interview with Screen Daily.

The database, called Primetime, will be open to anyone who identifies as a woman or has experienced oppression as a woman as long a that person has at least three IMDB credits or credits from major theatrical productions or APA registered companies. The team behind it plans to launch a graduate membership in the near future in order to help those who are at an earlier stage in their careers.

"Currently men outnumber women 2:1 onscreen and 3:1 in some cases. We need to move away from a world where we are more likely to see an alien than an Asian women onscreen," says the site. "Primetime hopes to provide a simple solution to one of the industry’s most frequently asked questions in addition to providing a promotional platform and support network for our members."

Acknowledging the issue of sexual harassment in the industry, Primetime is partnering with Spot, an organisation that facilitates anonymous reporting.

Share this with others on...
News

Love, not reason Pawel Pawlikowski, Sandra Hüller, August Diehl and Hanns Zischler discuss Fatherland

The monstrosity of the form Katie Aselton and Mark Duplass on relatable storytelling and Magic Hour

Going off-plan Ben Wheatley on early inspirations, developing his craft and making Normal

The accidental revolutionary Dimitri Planchon and Jean-Paul Guigue discuss artistic evolution and Blaise

Embracing complexity Nigel Santos on the messiness of real life romance, and Open Endings

Alone together Park Joon-ho on loneliness, North Korean experience, gay life and 3670

More news and features

We're bringing you news, reviews and more from Cannes and Queer East.



We've recently brought you coverage of the San Francisco Independent Film Festival, Visions du Réel, Fantaspoa, Overlook, BFI Flare and SXSW, the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival, the NY Rendezvous with French Cinema, the Glasgow Film Festival, the Berlinale, Sundance and Palm Springs.



Read our full for more.


Visit our festivals section.

Interact

Don't forget that you can follow us on YouTube for trailers of festival films and more. You can also find us on Mastodon and Bluesky.


It's a busy time for festivals and here's the latest:


Cannes Teenage Sex And Death At Camp Miasma team takes to the stage


Cannes Paul Laverty, Demi Moore, Park Chan-Wook and others speak out


Cannes Honorary Palme d'Or for Peter Jackson


Cannes Festival to host 25th anniversary screening of The Fast And The Furious, as Classics also announced


Fantasia First wave of titles announced