Skip to main content
Top

2020 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

With Eyes Wide Open: Gender Equality in the Polish Film Industry

Activate our intelligent search to find suitable subject content or patents.

search-config
loading …

Abstract

The struggle to formalize gender equality in the Polish film industry doesn’t have a long history but already some successes. In 2014, the Polish Female Filmmakers Association was established and marked the beginning of an ongoing activism to tackle the uneven distribution of funding and recognition of Polish female filmmakers. The commitment to challenge this situation has been debated and discussed during almost every film festival organized in Poland. Finally, during the 41st edition of the Polish Film Festival in 2016 in Gdynia, not only was a debate organized on how women can succeed in the masculine world of the film industry but importantly the Polish Film Institute announced its commitment to apply formal gender policies in its statute. From now, the Committee of Experts, responsible for the evaluation of applications for funding, has to consist of at least 35% women experts. During the same year, a pilot study on the situation of women in the industry was commissioned by EWA Network, the Council of Europe’s Eurimages Fund and the Polish Female Filmmakers Association. The report was launched during a conference “Missing Creativity: Gender Equality in the European Film Industry: Focus on Poland” and was the first attempt to quantify the film industry from a gender perspective. According to Monika Talarczyk-Gubała, author of the study, this research showed that a strong opposition to gender equality interventions exists in the community. When representatives of the film industry learned about her research, both males and females expressed they are against any formal regulations of the industry, as this brings back memories of the interventionist era of communism. In addition to quantitative research, in-depth qualitative inquiry is thus necessary to understand and critically examine the struggle for gender equality in the contemporary film production culture in Poland. This chapter will attempt to provide such an inquiry. Drawing on in-depth interviews with representatives of the industry, it will provide an analysis of the ongoing activism to achieve gender equality in the film industry in Poland. It will not only explore the motives, challenges, successes and setbacks of those who are fighting for equality in this industry, but also attempt to answer the question of what it means to be a female filmmaker in contemporary Poland.

Dont have a licence yet? Then find out more about our products and how to get one now:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 102.000 Bücher
  • über 537 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Automobil + Motoren
  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
  • Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
  • Finance + Banking
  • Management + Führung
  • Marketing + Vertrieb
  • Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe
  • Versicherung + Risiko

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 67.000 Bücher
  • über 340 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Finance + Banking
  • Management + Führung
  • Marketing + Vertrieb
  • Versicherung + Risiko




Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

Literature
go back to reference Czarnkowska-Listoś, R. (2019, June). Women in Film Poland. Presentation delivered during the panel Contemporariness: The Position of Women in the Contemporary Media at the Production Culture: Societal and Economic Aspects of Film Production International Conference of the Lodz film School, Lodz, Poland. Czarnkowska-Listoś, R. (2019, June). Women in Film Poland. Presentation delivered during the panel Contemporariness: The Position of Women in the Contemporary Media at the Production Culture: Societal and Economic Aspects of Film Production International Conference of the Lodz film School, Lodz, Poland.
go back to reference Eurimages. (2016). Missing Creativity: Gender Equality in the European Film Industry: Focus on Poland and Beyond. Conference by Eurimages, EWA Network, Polish Female Filmmakers Association. Retrieved from http://www.rm.coe.int. Eurimages. (2016). Missing Creativity: Gender Equality in the European Film Industry: Focus on Poland and Beyond. Conference by Eurimages, EWA Network, Polish Female Filmmakers Association. Retrieved from http://​www.​rm.​coe.​int.
go back to reference European Women’s Audiovisual Network. (2016a). Executive Summary: Where Are the Women Directors? Report on Gender Equality in the European Film Industry. Retrieved from http://www.ewawomen.com. European Women’s Audiovisual Network. (2016a). Executive Summary: Where Are the Women Directors? Report on Gender Equality in the European Film Industry. Retrieved from http://​www.​ewawomen.​com.
go back to reference European Women’s Audiovisual Network. (2016b). Where Are the Women Directors? Report on Gender Equality for Directors in the European Film Industry 2006–2013. Retrieved from http://www.ewawomen.com. European Women’s Audiovisual Network. (2016b). Where Are the Women Directors? Report on Gender Equality for Directors in the European Film Industry 2006–2013. Retrieved from http://​www.​ewawomen.​com.
go back to reference Marmurek, J. (2017, January 14). „Dobra zmiana” idzie po kino. Ludzie PiS w komisjach Polskiego Instytutu Sztuki Filmowej. OKO.Press. Retrieved from http://www.oko.press. Marmurek, J. (2017, January 14). „Dobra zmiana” idzie po kino. Ludzie PiS w komisjach Polskiego Instytutu Sztuki Filmowej. OKO.Press. Retrieved from http://​www.​oko.​press.
go back to reference Perkowski, P., & Stegner, T. (Eds.). (2009). Kobieta i media. Studia z dziejów emancypacji kobiet. Gdańsk: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego. Perkowski, P., & Stegner, T. (Eds.). (2009). Kobieta i media. Studia z dziejów emancypacji kobiet. Gdańsk: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego.
go back to reference Poland: Behind the Black Protests—The Women and Men Protesting Against Attempts to Ban All Abortions in Poland. (2017, January 5). Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com. Poland: Behind the Black Protests—The Women and Men Protesting Against Attempts to Ban All Abortions in Poland. (2017, January 5). Retrieved from http://​www.​bbc.​com.
go back to reference Polish National Film Festival in Gdynia to Be the First National Festival Signing the Gender Quality Pledge. (2018, September 27). Film New Europe [Press release]. Retrieved from http://www.filmneweurope.com. Polish National Film Festival in Gdynia to Be the First National Festival Signing the Gender Quality Pledge. (2018, September 27). Film New Europe [Press release]. Retrieved from http://​www.​filmneweurope.​com.
go back to reference Sobolewski, T. (2019). Próba normalności. O kinie Zebry i nie tylko. In A. Majer (Ed.), Zebra. 30 lat kręcenia (pp. 20–37). Warszawa: Studio Filmowe Zebra. Sobolewski, T. (2019). Próba normalności. O kinie Zebry i nie tylko. In A. Majer (Ed.), Zebra. 30 lat kręcenia (pp. 20–37). Warszawa: Studio Filmowe Zebra.
go back to reference Świderska, M., & Bielawska, K. (2018, September 21). Dostęp do pracy. Udział reżyserek w polskich serialach w latach 2000–2018. Paper presented “Women in Film: 50x50 by 2020” conference at the 43 Polish Film Festival in Gdynia. Świderska, M., & Bielawska, K. (2018, September 21). Dostęp do pracy. Udział reżyserek w polskich serialach w latach 2000–2018. Paper presented “Women in Film: 50x50 by 2020” conference at the 43 Polish Film Festival in Gdynia.
go back to reference Talarczyk-Gubała, M. (2016a). Pilotażowy raport o pozycji kobiet w polskiej kinematografii. Fakty i liczby. Warsaw, Poland: Political Critique, Polish Female Filmmakers Association. Retrieved from http://www.krytykapolityczna.pl. Talarczyk-Gubała, M. (2016a). Pilotażowy raport o pozycji kobiet w polskiej kinematografii. Fakty i liczby. Warsaw, Poland: Political Critique, Polish Female Filmmakers Association. Retrieved from http://​www.​krytykapolityczn​a.​pl.
go back to reference Talavera Milla, J. (2014). Female Directors in European Films State of Play and Evolution Between 2003 and 2012. Strasbourg: Council of Europe. European Audiovisual Observatory. Retrieved from www.http://coe.int. Talavera Milla, J. (2014). Female Directors in European Films State of Play and Evolution Between 2003 and 2012. Strasbourg: Council of Europe. European Audiovisual Observatory. Retrieved from www.http://​coe.​int.
Metadata
Title
With Eyes Wide Open: Gender Equality in the Polish Film Industry
Author
Greta Gober
Copyright Year
2020
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39070-9_4