Most European Film Academy (EFA) members do not want gender-neutral acting prizes to be introduced at the European Film Awards, according to a membership survey published today (Oct 27).
Of the European film professionals taking part in EFA’s first ever membership survey, 58% voted against the introduction of gender-neutral awards, while 19% were in favour of them and 22% said they didn’t know.
EFA runs the European Film Awards which currently has separate categories for European actor and European actress.
A string of awards shows have gone gender neutral in recent years, including the British Independent Film Awards, Film Independent Spirit Awards, the Gotham Awards and the Canadian Screen Awards. The Grammys were one of the first major awards to go gender-neutral in 2012 while the MTV Movie Awards followed in 2017.
The 2021 Berlinale was the first major festival to make the change; San Sebastian followed in 2022, while Locarno made the switch this year.
Membership survey
The EFA survey was conducted by CresCine in May 2023 to gather insights about its membership’s background, expectations and circumstances. Out of 4,600 members, 19.6% filled out the survey.
More than 60% of respondents said they wanted documentary films to be allowed to compete in the European film of the year category, instead of only being able to compete in the European documentary category.
The survey also asked questions about topics such as sustainability, training and diversity & inclusion.
It found that most European film professionals were keen to train themselves to stay competitive, but knowledge about the possibilities and the funds to participate are lacking.
Eighty-five percent noted they were keen on developing themselves further but were not well-informed about the possibilities in Europe to broaden their horizons. Most respondents keep themselves updated at festivals, conferences, or workshops but visit these rarely.
European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs (EAVE) was cited as the best-known training programme, followed by ACE Producers. EFA said this showed that most of respondents are producers trained at EAVE and ACE and the awareness of respondents of other established training and upskilling programs is limited.
Eighty percent of respondents said do not feel secure within the industry and cannot attend training programmes, even if they want to. Only 30% of all respondents indicated they have the financial support to participate in training programmes.
Matthijs Wouter Knol, CEO and director of the European Film Academy, said: “We’ve measured the temperature in Europe. The learnings of this first survey among all European Film Academy members in 52 countries give valuable insights and are relevant for all in the European film industry.
“We see our members are keen to participate and feel the urge to stay part of the game, but the reality is that many feel insecure financially and do not know where to look for suitable training. At the same time, Academy members are open to change, and growing aware of the new chances a more sustainable, diverse and inclusive industry offer. As European Film Academy, the survey offers us concrete tools to further improve our infrastructure, key events and membership engagement in the upcoming years.”
No comments yet