FERA organises Berlinale conference “Breaking the 26% Glass Ceiling: Advancing Gender Parity for Women Filmmakers in Europe” in partnership with EFAD

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The Federation of European Screen Directors (FERA), in partnership with the European Film Agencies (EFAD), held a conference dedicated to addressing gender inequality in the European film sector. 

The event, “Breaking the 26% Glass Ceiling: Advancing Gender Parity for Women Filmmakers in Europe,” took place place on Friday 14 February 2025 at the Felleshus Auditorium, the pan-Nordic cultural center in Berlin.

With women representing only 26% of directors in European feature films — a figure that has not been surpassed for over a decade — the conference explored actionable solutions to improve representation, close pay gaps, and secure equitable resources for women filmmakers.  

The programme featured keynotes, a presentation of the state of play by the European Audiovisual Observatory, a panel discussion with leading policymakers and industry representatives, as well as an exclusive conversation bridging generations of women filmmakers and commemorating the legacy of the 1973 International Women’s Film Seminar in Berlin, revisiting history to inspire the next generation. 

Our distinguished guest speakers included Manuel Fioroni (European Audiovisual Observatory), Katleen Goosens (European Women’s Audiovisual (EWA) Network), Kjersti Mo (Norwegian Film Institute/EFAD), Emma Rafowicz (Member of the European Parliament), Daphné Tepper (EURO-MEI), Enrico Vannucci (Eurimages) and Iris Zappe-Heller (Austrian Film Institute/EFAD).

Additionally, the Directors in Dialogue session featured a thought-provoking on-stage conversation between renowned Norwegian filmmaker Vibeke Løkkeberg and Elisabeth O. Sjaastad, (Norwegian Filmmakers’ Association/FERA) reflecting on 50 years of gender imbalance in cinema.

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Detailed programme and speakers’ biographies here.

(Re)watch the panel discussion and the Directors in Dialogue session:

Presentations during the conference:

• • European Audiovisual Observatory presentation.
  • Eurimages presentation.

Cineuropa article:

• • FERA and EFAD discuss gender disparities and the role of women in film at the Berlinale

Other materials:

• • Austrian Film Institute, Third Austrian film gender report, 2024.
  • Cineregio, Are you ready for change? Gender& Diversity Tools!, Case study 2024.
  • EFAD, Gender and Inclusion Working Group webpage.
  • EU Audiovisual Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee, Framework of Actions on Gender Equality in the Audiovisual sector, updated in May 2023.
  • EURO-MEI and EWA,What can you do about the Gender Pay Gap today? – Act for equality in the audiovisual industry, 2024.
  • Le Lab des Femmes, Qualitative study, Measures to promote gender equality in European cinema, 2024 (in French).