the (red) set*

A short and sweet demi paragraph in Screenhub’s e-newsletter on September 3 mentioned news of Australian cinematographer Mandy Walker being announced as the recipient of the 2008 Hollywood Film Festival’s Cinematographer of the Year for – as the Hollywood Film Festival puts it – “ lensing Baz Luhrmann’s Australia. ”  On top of her recent KODAK Vision Award for cinematography in June, Screenhub noted that 2008 is “her year for international recognition.”

Mandy Walker, was presented with the KODAK Vision Award for cinematography on June 17.  The award, inaugurated and sponsored by Kodak, recognises the important role of female cinematographers in the collaborative art of filmmaking.  Michael Morelli, Vice President and Worldwide General Manager for Kodak’s Entertainment Imaging Division was quoted in press releases at the time saying:  “Mandy Walker, ACS is a tremendous talent… this recognition is well-earned by her impressive and eclectic body of work.”

Walker has a significant oeuvre of notable feature credits including Love Serenade, Walk the Talk, Lantana, Australian Rules and Shattered Glass, racked up after having worked her way up through the ranks from camera crew to cinematographer. Walker’s body of work also includes documentaries, music videos and television commercials.

Walker’s success and recent honours are well deserved, she is known in the local industry to be a hardworking and fabulous cinematographer however it does get one thinking – why aren’t there more women cinematographers working on feature films in key technical roles?

Feature filmmaking is still predominantly a male-dominated world. Yes we are starting to see more and more credits for female DOPs and cinematographers on independent films and documentaries and last year’s Academy Awards saw women practitioners pick up gongs in the makeup & set design and costuming categories. But we are yet to see a female director of photography receive an Academy Award.

Today, September 4, saw news of Mandy Walker’s Hollywood Film Festival craft award announcement light up film blogs and websites with reportage and the first rumblings of ‘Oscar’ predictions like this one posted on incontention.com “…. it’s nice to see she’s been named Cinematographer of the Year. The one thing that’s not in doubt about “Australia” is that it’s going to be a visual feast, so things are looking good for Walker to become the first female Best Cinematography nominee in Oscar history.”

Mandy Walker’s potential Academy Award nomination aside, Dr. Martha M. Lauzen, a professor at San Diego State University in the US, recently published a report called The Celluloid Ceiling that revealed only 2% of the people working as cinematographers on the top 250 films made in 2007 films in Hollywood were female. Ninety eight percent (98%) of the films had no female cinematographers, which translates roughly to a grand total of five  (5) camerawomen working on the top 250 big budget movies.

Celluloid Ceiling also reported the following statistics:
-    By genre, women were most likely to work on romantic comedies, romantic dramas, and documentaries and least likely to work on science fiction, horror, and action-adventure features.
-    Among the top 250 films, women were most likely to serve as cinematographers on documentaries (17%), followed by comedy dramas (9%) and animated features (9%), and comedies (7%).
-    Women did not serve as cinematographers on dramas, romantic dramas, romantic comedies, action- adventure features, sci-fi features, or horror features.
- Only 4% of cinematographers on the largest budget American films are women.

A feature film cinematographer controls every aspect of the visual look and feel of a movie, including choice of lenses, lighting, camera angles and much more. Cinematography is a craft that requires an eye, creativity and specialized experience. Despite film schools around the world being filled with female students acquiring those skills (just like Mandy Walker had done) Professor Alexis Krasilovsky, the creator of the doco Women Behind the Camera, has said: “…cinematography is still an ‘old boys network…. Guys are used to working with guys. A lot of directors, they want someone who has a track record if it’s their first film out. And so if they’re gonna get someone who’s tried and true, it’s most likely to be a cameraman who has that track record.”

Back in 2001 the political feminist group – the Guerilla Girls launched one of their infamous protest campaigns against Hollywood – with the strapline: “For discrimination in key jobs, say the Guerrilla Girls, Hollywood is even worse than US Senate”

Duncan Campbell wrote a piece for The Guardian, at the time on the Guerilla Girls taking on Hollywood: Women want lights, camera, action – “The Guerrilla Girls, who describe themselves as “culture’s favourite masked avengers”, have been plastering stickers across Los Angeles and New York complaining at the scarcity of female directors, producers, cinematographers and screenwriters. According to the stickers, no woman has ever won an Oscar for feature film direction, cinematography or sound, and 94% of the writing awards have gone to men.  The stickers also say that a range of major production companies – Miramax, New Line, Artisan, Sony, Screen Gems, Paramount Classics, Fine Line, Dimension, USA Films and the Shooting Gallery – released no more than one film directed by a woman last year. In some cases, it was none. Only four of last year’s top-grossing 100 films were directed by women, reads another sticker … ”

The statistics the Guerilla Girls used were from Professor Lauzen ‘s 2001 report – in 2008 the numbers are eerily familiar.

Maybe Mandy Walker’s ascendency might have a ripple effect and make it a little easier for upcoming female cinematographers like recent AFTRS graduates Amy Gebhardt and Bonnie Elliot who are now out there making their mark as practicing cinematographers and directors…regardless it is an exciting time for Mandy Walker and fingers crossed she gets to walk the red carpet at the Kodak theatre in Hollywood next February with a nom for Best Cinematographer because her work is the best – regardless of gender.

image: Guerilla Girls billboard in LA, 2001