In Europe on average, only one out of five films is directed by a woman.
The “Femmes de cinéma” Lab aims at creating a movement that can make this situation evolve. Cinema is only the tip of the iceberg that is gender inequality. Its symbolic importance is thus very powerful.
The time has come for us to overcome the stage of debates, and to focus on ideas of actions and experimentations that will allow women to take their rightful place.
The ambition of the Lab, dealing with the position occupied by women in European cinema, with a specific focus on female filmmakers, is to make ideas emerge, to suggest actions and stimulate experimentations, in order to instigate change.


NEWS
Study 2022
On the occasion of the 14th edition of the Arcs Film Festival, the Lab Femmes de Cinéma publishes and presents the update of its annual study on the place of women directors in Europe. This new study was carried out by the Lab with the support of its founding sponsor,...
read moreThe Lab Synthesis on the universe of series
PARITY AND MIXITY IN THE SERIES: WHERE DO WE STAND? As part of our partnership with CANNESERIES, the Lab took an interest in the world of series. We wanted to bring together all the information that exists on the subject of the place of women and under-represented...
read moreMap of measures per country
The European dimension of the Lab requires an openness to what is being done around us in Europe. What works and what does not. When a policy works in one country and results in a change in the position of women in cinema, it does not mean that it will work in...
read moreStudy 2021
On the occasion of the 13th edition of the Arcs Film Festival, the Lab Femmes de Cinéma publishes and presents the update of its annual study on the place of women directors in Europe. This new study was carried out by the Lab with the support of its founding sponsor,...
read moreABOUT US
The Lab « Femmes de cinéma» is an outgrowth of the non-profit organisation « Révélations culturelles », which organises Les Arcs Film Festival.
The Lab is an independent structure based in Paris.
The Lab is a place of discussions that favours the emergence of ideas
The Lab is a place for networking and discussions between people from all over Europe, representing all the cinema fields, interested in the question of gender equality in cinema.
At the heart of our approach, there is one conviction: it is those who make cinema who know what to do in order to shift the lines.
The Lab is a place where you discuss, think and experiment, with collective intelligence methods derived from coaching in order to supervise the process and steer towards ideas and actions.
The Lab consists of 4 workshops and 2 masterclasses a year.
The Lab is action oriented but also an experimentation stimulator
The Lab strives to be constructive and action oriented. It is open to different points of view on the matter. Its uniqueness consists of focusing more on applying ideas in order for women to take their rightful place in the universe of cinema, and less on what created that situation.
The Lab wishes to work with key players from both public and private sectors, in order to put the ideas that sprouted from the workshops and masterclasses to the test.
The Lab is a tool for communication and lobbying
Through this website, and especially through reports of the workshops, videos of the masterclasses and a creative communication on social networks, the Lab is an idea stirrer. It will carry these ideas to the public institutions.
The Lab Observatory shows the initiatives taken in other countries on the gender inequality issue in the cinema industry in order to broaden the overview and stimulate creativity.
LE LAB
The Lab aims at the following, regarding the position occupied by women in the cinema industry:

To be a place of discussion between women and men from all the fields of the cinema industry, to make ideas emerge, which is the purpose of the workshops

To enrich the debate through high-level interventions and often with an international opening, which is the purpose of the masterclasses

To become, through this website, a generator of ideas on the matter, open to everyone. A place for inspiration that can be found in the nugget quotes section
The Lab is a state of mind, of discussion and openness, a process of collective intelligence and a desire to change things on these issues.
THEY PARTICIPATED
THE OBSERVATORY
The Observatory envisions itself as a living library about women’s place in the European cinema.
We’re aiming for the Observatory to become a place:
- to find links to other websites, articles and studies related to the subject
- to find details about the policies and initiatives that have proven themselves efficient in different European countries
The “Femmes de cinéma” Lab also produces, each year, a follow-up on the study made by Les Arcs European Film Festival in 2016 on the new generation of women creating European cinema. It is important for us to preserve a dynamic approach on our analysis.
This part of the website is not meant to be exhaustive yet; it will be completed step by step. Don’t hesitate to send us references of websites and articles that you find interesting on the issue, these pages will be enriched by their collaborative origin.
Films directed by women ratio between 2012 and 2015
%
Europe
%
Italy
%
Sweden
Average budget of a film
in 2012
- Female filmmakers 3,45 million € 61%
- Male filmmakers 5,66 million € 100%
Films directed by women ratio between 2012 and 2016
Average budget of a film
in 2012