Ladbury PR

Acclaimed British actor and producer Andrea Riseborough and Dame Heather Rabbatts call for British film industry to commit to working with female directors on feature films in the next 18 months

#4PercentChallenge

On International Women’s Day, Friday 8th March – acclaimed British actor and producer Andrea Riseborough is announcing her commitment to working with a female director on a feature film in the next 18 months as part of TIME’S UP’s #4PercentChallenge. Over the last decade, only 4% of the top 1,200 studio films were directed by women. That’s why TIME’S UP and the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative initiated the #4PercentChallenge, to increase the number of women directing major studio films. 

“We are urging the film industry here in the UK to be purposeful in how
inclusion is advocated for, that’s why TIME’S UP and the Annenberg Inclusion
Initiative initiated the #4PercentChallenge and we are delighted to
announce Andrea Riseborough’s commitment to the challenge, the first British
actor to do so since Tessa Thompson formally launched it at Sundance earlier
this year,” says Dame Heather Rabbatts, TIME’S UP UK Chair.

“Women directors should be given the same opportunity as their male colleagues to achieve their creative ambitions in the art of story-telling. We also know that women directors are more inclusive and make a significant contribution to the bringing on of other female professionals in roles both in front of and behind the camera.   We hope that this commitment to the #4PercentChallenge is a step in that direction.”

Andrea Riseborough says, “The idea meritocracy once existed and is now dying because of ‘inclusion’ is an illusion.  Inclusion is a cultural necessity. Mine is an influential industry and its fruits effect our social consciousness.  I’m committing to working with a female director in the next 18 months because although women make up 50% of moviegoers only 4% of studio films are directed by women. On projects directed by wome we have statistics to prove more women also end up on screen and behind the camera.  

“The #4PercentChallenge addresses just one of the ways in which my industry
under-represents, based on gender.  There is much more work to be done.
 Let’s work toward balanced recruitment across all demographics and in all
industries so that all races, sexualities, ages and genders/non-genders are
represented in the workplace.”

Andrea joins a growing list of industry talent from the US who have signed up to the challenge including Brie Larson, Eva Longoria, Jennifer Lopez, Natalie Portman and a whole host more. Many of the major studios are also committing to the challenge, studios who have committed to date include: Amazon Studios, Legendary Entertainment, MGM Studios, Paramount Pictures, Paramount Animation and Paramount Players, STX Entertainment, Universal Filmed Entertainment Group (Universal Pictures, Focus Features and Dreamworks Animation), and Warner Bros. Entertainment.

https://www.timesupnow.com/4percentchallenge