As summer draws to a close, ReFrame — the 50-plus-member coalition dedicated to achieving gender parity in Hollywood — and IMDbPro have announced the second round of recipients of the ReFrame Stamp.
“As a supporter and member of the ReFrame team, as well as a filmmaker working toward the goal of inclusivity and parity in front of and behind the camera, having the ReFrame stamp on my latest film is as important to me as making sure I have film in the camera,” says Paul Feig, one of ReFrame’s founding ambassadors, whose A Simple Favor is receiving the stamp. “The ReFrame seal of approval is something all studios, producers and directors should strive for. It’s not that hard to do.”
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Feig’s upcoming dark comedy and 21 other films join the inaugural class of 12 movies that was announced June 8. While the initial round was based on an IMDbPro analysis of 2017’s 100 top-grossing films in the U.S., the program has since welcomed submissions from any studio or independent feature that has secured domestic theatrical or streaming distribution.
The present criteria, which is expected to evolve as the industry does, requires stamp recipients to hire women in at least four of eight critical production areas: writer, director, producer, lead, co-lead, speaking parts, department heads and crew. Films featuring women of color in these roles are awarded bonus points.
“I’ve spent half my life on sets populated almost entirely by men, and once I was the boss, I realized that was entirely unnecessary,” says Olivia Wilde, whose feature directorial debut, Booksmart, has earned the ReFrame Stamp. “There is no lack of qualified women in any part of the film industry. It’s simply a matter of choosing to break away from the outdated male-dominated Hollywood paradigm. I’m honored my first film received the ReFrame certification, and hope that by the time I make my next one, it won’t be at all noteworthy to have a bunch of women in charge.”
Adds Glenn Close of stamp recipient The Wife, “I’m extremely proud to be part of a film with so many talented and determined women involved in its creation. The producers and screenwriter, all women, never gave up on getting it made, even though it took 14 years. The sensitive and powerful film editing, costume design, haunting score, all by women, come together to create a moving and cohesive work of cinema. I hope that its success, and this recognition by ReFrame, will encourage more hiring of women and more women to follow their passion to make films.”
“Having grown up in a gender-segregated society, the ReFrame Stamp is incredibly meaningful to me,” says Saudi filmmaker Haifaa Al-Mansour, whose Mary Shelley is receiving the stamp. “Yet there is still a long way to go in unrestricting the potential of the female voice in our society. The ReFrame Stamp is a reminder that women can thrive in every aspect of this industry, above or below the line, if we continue to push to create the opportunities that finally give them the chance.”
The second round of ReFrame Stamp recipients are:
2018 releases:
A Simple Favor
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Capernaum
Crazy Rich Asians
Destroyer
The Favourite
Freelancers Anonymous
Gemini
IRL
Jane and Emma
The Long Dumb Road
Mary Shelley
Miss Arizona
The Polka King
The Wife
2019 releases:
Booksmart
Five Feet Apart
Juanita
Late Night
The Lie
Otherhood
Untitled Pippa Bianco Project
