Tool on Establishing Yourself as a Female Director
Tool of North America presents two of its female directors who discuss the role gender has played in their careers.
Most female directors hope that they're not being consciously discriminated against in the bidding process. However, female directors are still few and far between.
We caught up with two female Tool of North America directors, who shared their experiences of subverting stereotypes, strengthening their resolve and whether they think their gender restricts their career progression.
Rachel McDonald:
"I don’t really feel as though the difficulty I have faced in establishing myself as a director has been gender-specific. Like any young filmmaker, male or female, I’ve faced the typical challenges of trying to break through and make a mark in a creative and extremely competitive field. The main challenge for us all is finding the courage to persevere through tough times. Thankfully, I come from a hard-working family where I had strong female role models who taught me I could do anything I put my mind to as long as I was willing to work hard. I feel fortunate to have learned, and perhaps inherited, a dogged work ethic and tenacious spirit from those strong women. It’s made me tough and it’s encouraged me to never give up. I believe there is always the right director for the creative project at hand regardless of gender. I don’t ever want to be chosen for a job because I’m a woman, or not chosen because I am a woman. I want my talent and craft to be what distinguishes me most."
Danielle Levitt:
"The role gender plays in my life is a particular one, and there is no separating me from my gender. My gender has informed who I am - from how I live my life, how I run my work, and how I work and interact with others - and its informed every decision I have ever made. I wanted to be a photographer and a director since I was young. I had one path and I was going to follow it. To be successful, one must work hard, and I worked very hard. Would I have had to work as hard had I not been a woman? Perhaps not, but I will never know. The results are a dedicated, focused person who believes in the power to persevere and hates the word NO. In all of this time, I have never experienced directed or targeted sexism, yet there still is that underlying feeling that my gender is present and serves as my other half. I do believe I can loose out on a job because I am a woman, but conversely, I might win the next bid because I am a woman. Getting into this industry is hard enough on its own, and adding the female gender in is just one more layer to factor in. We need much more female representation because together we are stronger."
Connections
powered by
- Production Tool of North America
- Director Rachel McDonald
- Director Danielle Levitt
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