'If a bloke can do it, I can do it': Aussie actresses on gender equality

Wednesday, 27 Jul 2016 12:26:46 | Patrick Wood

Rachel Ward and Matilda Brown (ABC News Breakfast)

It is hardly a secret the film industry struggles with gender equality, both in terms of the roles women receive and also who leads the creative projects.

This month Screen Australia allocated $3 million towards new female-focussed projects in film and television under the Gender Matters program.

The funding will go towards 45 story ideas and 13 projects after a record 452 applications were lodged with the Federal Government body.

Mum-and-daughter duo, Rachel Ward and Matilda Brown, co-star in the new film The Death and Life of Otto Bloom, which will open the Melbourne International Film Festival on Thursday night.

They spoke to ABC News Breakfast about how far the industry has come with gender equality, and how far it still has to go.

Are there enough opportunities for women to direct/lead productions?

RACHEL: There's always been a natural perception that men should helm the crew. That's always been perceived as the male role and [the question was] can women control a set? Do they have the authority to control a set?
It took me a long time to go, "Oh yes, I have as much right to be behind the camera to tell female-driven stories as the guys do." It takes time for it to shift.

MATILDA: For me, because my mindset is always, "If a bloke can do it, I can do it" I think sometimes I don't look at the facts and I just kind of plough ahead.
It's more like I see a female presence in my arena and I also think I've come at a time when people are really trying to make it an equal footing for men and women. If it's a journey I'm at an optimistic part of my journey.

Are there enough acting opportunities for women?

RACHEL: If it's acting, forget it. Guys have it over us. For every five roles there are for a man there's one role for a woman. Every story has so many more men than women in it.
We're starting to see the changes there. I won't experience them, [Matilda] will, which is obviously fabulous. I'm certainly much more optimistic about what's going on and certainly the topic has gone mainstream.
The changes were happening and certainly we were making a fuss, we were certainly doing the shouting about it and I think that they're now going to benefit very much.

MATILDA: It's hard to say no [to what Rachel says].

Do we have a problem with the way women are cast?

RACHEL: Once the eye candy factor dims it's all over, Red Rover.
It becomes pretty annoying, of course it does ... the shelf life of women is very short, which is largely where I've been very encouraging of Matilda to get a few strings to her bow.
So that one doesn't experience the old ageism thing, which happens ... there's very few that go on to have longevity in a career.

MATILDA: I go to Los Angeles every year for pilot season and one thing I notice there is every script ... for the lead female is all about her appearance. It's "bombshell", "gorgeous".
Rarely is it the most interesting character in the script.

Do film distributors have an appetite for female-led films and TV?

RACHEL: Gender Matters is the first very positive movement towards change.
Where the problems lie is actually in the distributors, in people having a perception that it's the men who choose to go to the movies, and women will go along with the men to see some big blockbuster but men won't go and see a rom-com or a women's film.

MATILDA: I think my experience is kind of different because I'm not looking back on my whole career and feeling like men have it over me.
I guess because I know a lot of females in the industry and I'm surrounded by a lot of females who are doing the same things as me forging their way through it.

Does a changing media offer opportunities or challenges?

RACHEL: The plethora of stuff that comes from overseas and the fact that we're now competing on an international level with all the streaming that goes on, we really have to lift our game to keep audiences.
There's so much choice, and it's going to be very, very easy for our culture to be lost unless we keep funding up for our own stories to be told.

MATILDA: That's also a benefit, all that streaming stuff that goes on. Because I wouldn't have my show on Presto if it wasn't for the streaming service.
[There are] more opportunities ... and with the funding bodies and Presto I'm able to make the show that I want to make and employ people that are in the film industry.
Whilst there's some avenues that are disappearing there are more opportunities that are coming because technology is just constantly changing and moving.

AustraliaPlus

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