We have just wrapped the eighth and last Emerging Women Filmmakers Incubator. This also brings to a close the year-long Incubator programme in its current manifestation as we have been unable to secure funding for it.

In reflecting on women directors working in the scripted space, either in feature film or TV drama, it would seem some improvement has been made from when the Incubator programme began in 2016.

One of the reasons we were prompted to develop the Incubator programme was that there were very few women directing in high-budget scripted drama in New Zealand at the time.

In its 2023 Gender Diversity Report, NZ On Air stated that:

• Since 2016, male directors have outnumbered female directors. However, 2023 saw the most even split between them since this report began.
• 50.6% of directing roles were filled by men and 48.2% were filled by females. In 2022, male directors accounted for 53% and female directors made up 46%. […] One project Kainga, which had eight female directors, impacted this data. However, 2023’s figures indicate a significant increase in gender parity from 2016 and 2017’s figures, which showed that men filled around two-thirds of directing roles.

NZ On Air’s stats cover Drama, Documentary and Children’s. While these figures are positive, what is helping these numbers is that more women are directing scripted in the lower budget space—Anecdotally, I think we are safe to say that male directors still dominate in high-budget scripted drama.

Over at NZFC according to statistics I gleaned from their website, of the 12 films funded in the 2015/2016 year for production that went on to get made, five (42%) were directed by women and seven (58%) by men. Interestingly, while women tend to direct more documentary features than men, all seven films directed by men in 2016 were documentary, while only one documentary was directed by a woman.

I need to point out that the numbers I used (from the NZFC website) vary slightly from a published Gender Report by NZFC in September of 2019. In that report, it states that 13 films were funded that year, of which 31% had a woman director and 69% had a male director. It may well be that one of the films ultimately didn’t get made, which is what may have changed the numbers available now.

In this year to date (2023/2024), five (50%) of the funded  films are to be directed by men with two of them documentaries, while five (50%) films will be directed by women, two of them documentaries as well. (NB: The two documentaries attributed to each gender are in fact only two documentaries in total, as they will be co-directed with each having one male director and one female director.)

Across the period from 2015/2016 to 2023/2024, the gender balance in feature film directing became a little more favourable to women.

Of the 89 films funded and made during that period 48 (54%) were directed by men while 41 (46%) were directed by women. (Premium Fund projects are not included here as there were both features and TV series made with the now defunct Premium Fund funding.)

Documentaries directed by women during the period were 19 (56%) of the total of 34 doco films, while men directed 15 (44%) of the 34.

Of course there were swings and roundabouts across that 2015/16 – 2023/24 period both in terms of gender as well as the split between narrative and documentary, but overall there is still a slight weighting towards men directing 48 (54%) films over women directing 41 (46%). Narrative films make up 56 (63%) of the 89 films funded versus 33 (37%) for documentary.

With regard to the Emerging Women Filmmakers Incubator, 54 women went through the programme during the 2015/16 – 2023/24 period.

Five of them have directed features in that time (two completed, two in post and one shooting at the time of writing). All of the women from the Incubator have gone on to direct one or more shorts, web series or scripted series, commercials, or other scripted content. There is undoubtedly more to come, with many features and series in development with them.

I think it’s important to note the time frame of features with an example: In the very first intake of directors into the Incubator in 2016, one of the directors came in with a project that is being shot now in 2024, eight years later.

When we started the Incubator, we stated that the intent of it was to help women directors advance their project and careers. I firmly believe that we, being the guild and the many experienced practitioners from the industry who contributed their time and knowledge to the programme, did that.

But more importantly in my view, was that the Incubator gave women directors the opportunity to grow their skills, capabilities and networks, celebrate their successes, and help to address their concerns and fears in a safe space within a like-minded group they could be open with.

We’ve come a long way in addressing inequity for women directors in our industry. But we still have a ways to go. I’m proud that DEGANZ has played a small part in the progress to date.

Tui Ruwhiu
Executive Director

Last updated on 21 November 2024