HIGHLIGHTS
After many years of under-representation, female screenwriters appear to have made a
breakthrough over the last three years, with an unusually high representation in the top 20
UK independent films (37%) and profitable UK independent films (30%).
This contrasts with continued under-representation of women among directors of UK
independent films, although the proportion of female directors in the top 20 UK
independent films (18%) was slightly higher than in the whole population of UK independent
films (11%).
A feature of the above results is the number of successful female writers and directors
attached to more than one project over the period. This suggests the development of
consolidated writing and directing careers and on-going relationships with producers and
funders of films, the same factors shown by research to be present in the careers of
successful male screenwriters and directors.
Leonine Films 