In China, the there are few opportunities for women to enter the film and television industry. For example, 50% of all university film majors in China are female, however, not even 20% of them are able to get a job in multimedia after graduation. This statistic portrays how difficult it is for women to enter such a competitive industry that is also notorious for gender discrimination. It is especially imperative to give women a voice in film and television in China, as the Chinese market is currently considered to be one of the world’s largest platforms for film production and viewership. China’s lack of resources and institutions to encourage women in filmmaking leads to inequality in the industry. An inequality that we hope to fight through programs such as the one proposed.
Our organization would like to create a network for female film students in China in order to promote and encourage more women to participate in and enjoy the benefits of such a growing industry. In additions to the benefits gained by a strong network, they will be able to seek advice from established female filmmakers from around the world through the connections that our organization has made over six years of hosting a women’s film festival.
For the first year that the network is established, we would target female university film students from 10 provinces, and each year continue to expand the network to many other cities around China. We believe it is more important to reach university students in second and third-tier cities, as there is a significant lack of resources for female filmmakers in those areas. By starting in universities, we hope that recent graduates of this program will become mentors for future members of the women’s student film network, and offer their advice to aspiring female filmmakers.