Gender and Race in the South African Film Industry

What is it about?

The role and representation of female filmmakers globally have been topics of discussion but have not been researched in depth to help garner significant change, especially in the South African film industry. The role of film festivals like the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) and Encounters help female filmmakers by giving them the platform to showcase their work as well as gain more recognition. However, the number of female filmmakers, and black female filmmakers, in particular, are not recognised substantially at these festivals. South African box office reports also indicate that the film industry is dominated by white male directors and that not enough films are produced locally to meet up with the amount of international films that are screened at local cinemas, which is further indication that a gender and race discrepancy is prevalent. There is also the issue of female filmmakers being limited in the fiction film genre and as a result, the film industry in South Africa and globally have more female filmmakers making non-fiction films than fiction films. This article will explore the issue of gender and race in the South African film industry, by focusing on the two biggest film festivals: DIFF and Encounters.

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Why is it important?

This study aims to identify whether they exhibit gender and race discrepancies. Furthermore, this study will explore the representation of black female filmmakers at DIFF and Encounters. The research will also ascertain whether there is a discrepancy between the number of fiction and non-fiction female directors and whether there is a racial imbalance evident at these two festivals.

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