Sadly,Australia still has a long way to go – especially when it comes to who actually shoots the stories we watch in cinema and on TV. The Australian Cinematographers Society’s,published in July this year,highlighted just how bad the lack of representation of women,people of colour,First Nations people and non-binary people is locally.
Writer and director Grace Moore.Emily Seif
According to the research,conducted by Deakin University,the University of Tasmania and Tallinn University,men outnumbered women and non-binary people 10 to one in almost every camera-related department,and the gap is starkest in the most senior roles – ie,those who have the most power.
Headlines about the ACS’ report focused on,but on the ground there’s another fundamental issue for those from marginalised backgrounds:how few of them there are,and the difficulties they experience obtaining funding.
While successful Australian cinematographers like Ari Wegner (Oscar-nominated for her work on Jane Campion’sThe Power of the Dog)and Mandy Walker (who shot Baz Luhrmann’sElvis) are celebrated exceptions to this rule,away from the limelight there remain serious,structural issues in Australian film.
Those struggling to get opportunities on even smaller,independent projects aren’t going to get the experience,skills and filmography necessary to secure support for the kind of films that get distributed nationally and internationally,severely limiting the scope of who eventually gets to tell stories about Australia.
One emerging director of photography and focus puller,Nyssa Mitchell,found the ACS’ report “disappointing but not at all surprising”.In her three years of working in camera departments,she’s been the only woman in the camera crew many times over. The issue exists across the board,but is particularly stark on larger,more impactful projects.
As production budgets increase,the likelihood of having even one non-male person in the camera department decreases. First Nations,POC,queer and gender-diverse cinematographers are relegated to the fringes,on lower-budget projects,with fewer opportunities for paid experience than our majority older,male and white counterparts. This kind of exclusion is cyclical and it affects their ability to progress onto higher-budget productions,ultimately creating the long-term income inequality underlined in the report.
“I think it does come down to women and gender-diverse people not being trusted to take on these bigger-budget projects,” Mitchell says.
Another director of photography,Amy Dellar,broke into the industry shooting TV commercials. Her first medium-budget project was an independent feature film calledSlant.She sees the same problem over and over again.
In three years of working in camera departments,Nyssa Mitchell says she’s been the only woman in the camera crew many times over.
“If you just hire people with the most experience,then the same group of people continue to gain more experience,” Dellar says. “People need to understand this is why women and non-binary people have less experience in the first place.”
The film industry is inherently hierarchical. There’s simply not enough work to go around for everyone in an already hyper-competitive environment where public and private investment is hard to come by.
Trying to get funding from government bodies,as an emerging filmmaker,is like drawing blood from a stone. Without major film festival credits from events like Cannes or MIFF,or credits on broadcast or streaming productions,it’s virtually impossible get public grants.
In 2022,Lilah Benetti,who identifies as a black,non-binary person,produced an internationally acclaimed short film,Tinashe,which screened at Sydney Film Festival,Flickerfest and the Berlinale. Benetti and the film’s director,Zimbabwean-born Tig Terera,received no external funding for production,but they pursued travel funding through government screen bodies to attend Berlinale,in an application process described as “painstaking” and “inaccessible”.
Lilah Benetti’s film Tinashe received a special mention award at this year’s Berlinale.Abdul Yusuf
After completing a standard-practice 12-page marketing plan,Benetti found it “triggering” that the justification for receiving funding was heavily reliant on their cultural identities,rather than the evident success of the film. “It is demeaning to have to position your identity as a marketing opportunity or selling point in 2022,when your hard work speaks for itself,” they said.
“We had already made the film and been invited to Berlinale,one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world. The hard work was already done. It really did not make any sense to me.”
Tinashe received a special mention award from the Berlinale International Jury,who said the film “...taps into a side of Australia we don’t usually see on screen”,ironically underlining the very issue in the industry. Films likeTinashewill struggle to get made unless something significant changes.
Cinematographer Bonita Carzino on set.
Tinashe’s success overseas underlines an international demand for more Australian films of this kind. From an industry standpoint,this is an opportunity for market expansion and growth,one that will be missed without the inclusion of more diverse filmmakers. Some powerful people hold the keys to unlocking more equity and diversity in camera departments on big-budget projects,and the ACS’ report clearly showed that not enough is being done.
One solution might be more partnerships between industry and funding bodies to give emerging filmmakers the opportunity to gain recognisable credits. Cinematographer Bonita Carzino completed a camera attachment program funded by Film Victoria (since rebranded to VicScreen) with director of photography Craig Barden.
“It was really great to have my first experience on long-form be a majority-femme set,” Carzino says. “Craig is a big supporter of trying to get more women in technical roles. I think that is an example of how someone can embrace these changes.”
By contrast,Dellar was disappointed to be shortlisted for an ACS “Credit-Maker” program that never went ahead. In the program,emerging cinematographers would be chosen by a production company and director of photography to shadow in the camera department on a television series. At the end of the program they could shoot an episode to gain a recognised credit on a broadcast or streaming-standard production. The lack of consistency and resourcing for these kinds projects encapsulates how not enough work is being done to change the industry’s trajectory.
Amy Dellar,a director of photography,was disappointed a program called Credit Maker didn’t go ahead.
And as Benetti notes,“As much as we want to improve diversity statistics,it’s not up to people like myself to do this. What is being done to improve the rate of cultural education,safety,accessibility and overall cultural competency in the film industry?”
As the film industry slowly continues to grow and diversify,it’s become obvious the time for suburban family dramas and outback thrillers made by people who all look the same is at an end. The future is undeniably in more contemporary stories told by a broader,more representative group of filmmakers whose lived experiences reflect those that are shown on screen.
But we cannot get by on the inspiration of names like Ari Wegner and Mandy Walker alone. For the Australian film industry to thrive,there must be more paid opportunities to propel those languishing in lower-budget productions,or those struggling to even get their foot in the door.
Speaking from experience,emerging filmmakers do an excellent job of fostering diversity among our small-budget music videos and short film shoots. If these kinds of projects are fertile ground for femme and gender-diverse camera crew,surely they deserve more of a chop-out from industry and funding bodies?
Clarification:While the ACS Credit Maker placement referred to in this story did not go ahead,the wider initiative is proceeding.
Grace Moore is a writer and director from Melbourne.
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