Berlin Film Fest to make awards gender neutral: Is it time for us to do the same?
It’s been a while since we heard ‘Best Actor’ and ‘Best Actress’, a clear demarcation in gender terms, at any awards ceremony in India or abroad. Over the years, it’s been ‘Best Actor-Male, Best Actor- Female’. Even that, now, is set to change. In a major shift, the organisers of the Berlin Film Festival have announced that they will stop awarding separate acting prizes to women and men beginning next year. Their aim is for the performance to be defined as ‘gender neutral’. Do other film awards and festivals need to take the cue?
ONLY ABOUT TALENT
Actor-filmmaker Nandita Das, who has been on the jury of the Cannes Film Festival, feels talent should be the only parameter. “Scientists or teachers are not divided by gender, why should actors be? But we’ll have to see how it will manifest as there aren’t as many amazing parts written for women, as for men. So if this means more men are going to take the awards, that would be counterproductive,” she observes. Actor Manoj Bajpayee is all for making a statement. He says, “We should focus on ability, whichever gender you are. Other awards should take a cue from this.”
LGBTQI+ ACTORS IN THE RUNNING TOO?
Gender neutral awards also mean that Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex (LGBTQI+) actors too can be in the running. As filmmaker Priyadarshan, who was chairperson, on the Feature Films Jury of the 50th International Film Festival of India 2019 and of the 64th National Awards, says, “All that matters is how good you are in a film!” Das adds, “The community of LGBTQI+, often not represented or forced to choose a gender they may not want to, will benefit. It’s time we acknowledge gender fluidity.”