Equality for women in the EU – LAC Cinema sector : proposals from the Malaga Film Festival
(Main image, from left to right: Leticia Salvago - MLK Producciones; Marilha Naccari - FAM; Rocío Rodríguez - AAMMA, Panel Moderator; Blanca Rey - AAMMA, Representative of the EU-LAC campaign: Irune Aguirrezabal - Director of the Ibero-American Program for Education in Human Rights, Democracy and Equality at the OEI; Fina Martínez - WAWA Europe)
The dialogues were organised by the Andalusian Association of Women in the Audiovisual Sector (AAMMA). They included presenting a manual against sexual violence in the sector, women’s representation in the audiovisual industry, financing strategies for women, networking opportunities, how to boost cooperation between EU and LAC women and enhance bi-regional co-creation.
Pathways and opportunities for women filmmakers
At the "Pathways and Opportunities" round table, specialists from different countries analyzed the main challenges for women in filmmaking. Three fundamental axes were highlighted:
1) unequal access to financing,
2) gender bias
3) and the importance of effective collaboration networks.
It was concluded that it is necessary to transform complaints into collective strategies to promote international policies with a gender perspective.
Financing and equality
A round table addressed new ways of financing this sector with a gender perspective. Mechanisms such as branded content and tax incentives were explored. In the event “Equality in the Spotlight”, organized with RTVE and other associations, commitments to guarantee equity in productions financed by public television were discussed.
Equality and cinema at the Malaga Film Festival: against sexual harassment
On March 19, at the Thyssen Museum, the Andalusian Association of Women (AAMMA) presented "Corte!", a manual of good practices to prevent sexual violence in the audiovisual industry. With support from the Spanish Ministry of Equality, this document seeks to apply strategies at all stages of film production and events. Experts in prevention protocols participated in the round table discussion.
Women in the Andalusian industry
The report by the Andalusian Association of Women and the Association of Women Filmmakers and Audiovisual Media (CIMA) revealed key data on the situation of women in the Andalusian audiovisual sector. The president of AAMMA, Pilar Crespo, and the CIMA delegate in Andalusia, Nuria Vargas, stressed the need for strategies to promote parity in the sector.
Festival Women Network and GENERAMMA 2025
During the festival, the Pantalla Network, an initiative to coordinate Andalusian film festivals, was presented. In addition, the opening of an international section for short films directed by women from Europe and Latin America was announced, seeking to consolidate exchange and co-creation among filmmakers.
GENERAMA is a women´s film festival that takes place in Cadiz.
EU-LAC women cinema web platform
The OEI presented the work towards creating a digital web platform, funded by the EU (EEAS), that will map opportunities for women networking, work, collaboration and funding in the audiovisual sector. It was recommended that women's organizations be the main prescribers and that monitoring mechanisms be implemented to ensure decent working conditions in the offers published.
A call for collective action
The event concluded with the reaffirmation that gender equality in the audiovisual industry requires institutional policies and collaborative networks. The EU-LAC women cinema campaign was proposed by OEI as a bridge to connect women creators from Europe and Latin America&Caribbean countries, to promote new opportunities for women.
Background
This initiative is linked to the values and objectives of the initiative EU-LAC Cinema: promoting audio-visual cooperation on youth, gender and diversity. It is part of the EU-CELAC Bi-regional Roadmap 2023-2025, presented last year at the Summit between the EU and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in Brussels. This roadmap lists some of the important milestones ahead of the forthcoming EU-CELAC 2025 Summit in Colombia
