A big move was made by the Durban International Film Festival on Thursday as festival manager Chipo Zhou signed an official memorandum for the 50/50 by 20/20 Global Campaign.
The campaign is an inter-sectional power movement in arts and entertainment.
A move to gain more females in jobs not only on screen but in boardrooms and behind the scenes as well.
Durban is the first film festival in Africa to sign the memorandum. This comes hot on the heels of Venice and the Berlin Film Festival.
Sisters Working In Film and Television (SWIFT) spokesperson and board member, Zoe Chiriseri Ramushu who spoke at a media briefing in Durban said this year is a big year for DIFF and there is a general excitement around gender and diversity globally.
SWIFT is a gender based NPO that advocates for women's rights in the industry across the board in terms of safety, equality and recognising that the entertainment industry is very male dominated.
“SWIFT attended the Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year in partnership with the German Development Cooperation, GIZ and the UN Woman in a program called Step It Up For Gender Equality, where over 30 women's organisations from across the globe, discussed what they are doing for the cause,” said Ramushu.
She said what’s exciting is that there is a clear formation that’s taking place globally where women are coming together and understanding that they face the same issues even if its in a different country. The substance of it is very much the same.
“Women are making changes and being the change they want to see in the industry. As South Africa, although we are very far from the finish line in terms of gender issues, I’m proud to say we have started and we are actually ahead of a lot of countries, which is really encouraging for us a nation,” she said.
Ramushu said a measurement will be taken to make sure that progress is being made.
“What does 50/50 mean? It means reimagining leadership to reflect all of us, to reflect real life and not only on our screens, but in our boardrooms and behind the camera. The future is bright, it’s young and it is definitely female,” said Ramushu.
#DIFF2019 SWIFT spokesperson and board member, Zoe Chiriseri Ramushu speaks on the 50/50 by 20/20 Global Campaign. pic.twitter.com/0g8EhCOzy4
— IOL Lifestyle (@IOL_Lifestyle) July 18, 2019
#DIFF2019 manager Chipo Zhou says that the festival will also be celebrating Nelson Mandela’s birthday with free screenings of movies like Sarafina pic.twitter.com/mb1ufk236W
— IOL Lifestyle (@IOL_Lifestyle) July 18, 2019