Tokyo Film Festival jury speaks out on gender parity
TOKYO: In the #MeToo era, Asian festivals have been dragging their feet on the 50-50 by 2020 gender parity pledge that was launched in Cannes and has been signed by a slew of fests.
In that context the jury of the 31st Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) on Friday focused on the small number of female directors in the Tokyo competition, namely one (Brazilian Gabriela Amaral Almeida’s ‘The Father’s Shadow’) out of 16 movies, and the responsibility of festivals and juries worldwide in ensuring better representation.
“I think everybody has to play a role in this equal representation,” said jury Iran’s Taraneh Alidoosti. “But we are jury members, and we have to work with what we have got. If we can call this a problem or an issue of women being the minority among filmmakers that is because women are the minority … everywhere.”
She continued that “these things have to get resolved with little steps, year by year, step by step.” Noting that Tokyo festival staff had told her that this year marks the first time the event has two female jury members, she concluded: “So maybe that can be a step.”
The second female jury member, Japan’s Kaho Minami, also focused on the gradual progress. “In our world, it would be natural to have this proportion at 50:50, half-half,” Minami offered. “But this year, we have two members of the jury, and maybe next year we might have three, and maybe the next year or in the future we might have a female jury president (which has been the case only once in the festival’s history). I believe we are proceeding with very small steps.”
The Tokyo festival overall is taking “gradual steps” towards offering more femalemade movies in its lineup, she argued, noting the stronger representation of female filmmakers outside the competition. “It is a festival that is reflecting what is happening in the world. So I hope and anticipate that those issues would be reflected.”
Awareness
Minami also mentioned how Cate Blanchett at the Cannes festival spoke out for women, adding that “it’s important that we speak up” and “we are seeing these improvements” and more awareness.
“I’m just upset that we have to continue to (address) these questions, and I look forward to not having three female jurors, but having five female jurors represented, and not just one year, but many years,” US producer Bryan Burk (‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’) said. “In recent memory, my favourite American movie about Japan was made by a female director, Sofia Coppola’s ‘Lost of Translation’. There is no shortage of talented women that should be up here, far more talented and respected than myself.”
He concluded: “It’s crazy that we have to be asked these questions. I understand that we have to keep making it a point. Hopefully these questions will go away, and it will become the norm that we are having diversity of gender and races and countries.”
Head jury of the main competition, Filipino director Brilliante Mendoza in his response noted that “it’s a very political question” and that he is all for “equality and representation,” mentioning that 10 of his 13 films are “all about women empowerment.” Highlighting that the Philippines is a “matriarchal country” having had two female presidents.
“But a film festival is a film festival,” Mendoza added. “We decide (winners) on the film, not on the gender.” He lauded the fact that “slowly there is a women presence everywhere, and the mere fact that there is awareness is a big factor.
“Festivals now being aware of a long-running issue “is a big leap,” he added. “Eventually, we all want, of course, women to have representation everywhere.”
Tokyo competition programming director Yoshi Yatabe said in a conversation with reporters on Friday that the festival received about 1,800 submissions and while he could not break out how many were from female directors, he said that “I can feel it is not a lot and I feel it is not enough.”
He continued: “If the number of submissions by female directors is less than (that from) male directors and if it comes from the fact that maybe there is a barrier or obstacles for female directors to make a film compared to male directors, this is a problem.”
How does he pick films for the Tokyo competition? “When I do the selection, usually I don’t know the sex of the director before watching the film. I just watch the film. If I like the film, I go checking the director’s background,” he explained. But with just 16 slots for competition selections, he emphasised that “I am not really trying to have eight male directed films or eight female directed films. What matters for me basically is the quality of the film, of the result.”
Concluded Yatabe: “I am always trying to encourage and help female directors. But if I choose a female director only (because) she is female, it’s not fair for the male director doing good work.”
But this year, we have two members of the jury, and maybe next year we might have three, and maybe the next year or in the future we might have a female jury president (which has been the case only once in the festival’s history).
Kaho Minami, one of the jurors