Since 2016, the Lab Femmes de Cinéma realize an annual study on the place of women directors in cinema in Europe. Initially qualitative and quantitative, since 2020 we have relied on statistics from our partner the European Audiovisual Observatory, and therefore now focus exclusively on purely qualitative work.
This study aims to present a comprehensive overview of existing measures and policies to promote parity in cinema in Europe, therefore our study :
- draw up an annual review of the situation in Europe,
- compile a collection of existing best practices to promote inclusion in the cinema.
This study covers some thirty European countries, to which we send questions each year via their film institutes. The information presented in this study is therefore a synthesis of information sent in previous years, new responses sent to us by the institutes, and additional information found on their institutional websites. Our detailed methodology can be found in the study.
We also work closely with EFAD, which puts us in touch with the National Film Agencies of all its member countries, proofreads the study and distributes it to its members. The French Ministry of Culture has been supporting us since 2022, the French CNC since 2023 and Eurimages since 2024.
The figures from the European Audiovisual Observatory show that, on average across Europe, there has been a real increase in the proportion of films directed by women, but this increase has been very slow: we have gone from 19.2% in 2015 to 24.6% in 2024; and it is far from being linear: some years have seen declines, such as 2018, 2022 and 2024. At this rate, and without any setbacks, parity would be achieved… in 2066!
We track these figures year after year because we believe that this inequality is not only a statistical injustice, but also because we at the Lab believe that the under-representation of female filmmakers leads to a loss of creativity that we must continue to fight against now more than ever.
SYNTHESIS AND INFOGRAPHIC OF THE 2025 STUDY
Each publication of our study is always accompanied by a synthesis and an infographic. The synthesis brings together the key highlights, the trends that stand out this year, and those to watch in the long term. The infographic brings together statistical data from the Lab and our partner, the European Audiovisual Observatory. These two resources give you an overview of the content and information in our study.