Only a quarter of feature films are the work of a woman in Europe

Only a little more than a quarter of European films are signed by a female director, according to the 2023 edition of a study by the European Audiovisual Observatory, which deplores the “under-representation” of women in positions decision of the 7th art. Over the period 2018-2022, only 26% of European feature films (from EU member countries) were directed by female filmmakers. This nevertheless remains progress compared to the 2017-2021 period, where the proportion was 21%.

Elsewhere in cinema, women are a little more numerous. Among producers in particular, where 35% of the profession is made up of women, a profession that is not very visible but essential for the cinema economy. As for screenwriters, they are 29%. Among directors of photography, a prestigious and historically popular profession for men, women are in the minority: 11%.

Overall, the report writes, they remain “under-represented in key positions”. The male-female ratio is more balanced on screen. They represent 41% of all performers playing at least one main role in a feature film. These statistics come from the LUMIERE database of the European Audiovisual Observatory, which aggregates annual admissions of films released in theaters from various sources, notably national film agencies.