Barriers to Diversity in Film – A Research Review – Aug 07

3.4.9 Commissioning and ‘ghettoisation’
A big barrier in the film sector concerns the decision-making process
in funding or in providing finance for aspects of filmmaking. The
commissioning process is criticised as being slow, conservative and
closed (IES 2004). Funders and commissioners are risk-averse
regarding new talent and are culturally bound as to what may be a
commercial product. Certainly MEL companies felt there was a lack of
clarity and openness in decision-making, with respondents identifying
a lack of dialogue about their projects and the inaccessibility of
decision makers (IES 2004). Respondents felt pigeon-holed into
making films for minority ethnic audiences involving minority writers
and actors, so that they felt ghettoised. They felt the sector and the
market were dominated by well-known big companies. MEL companies
felt excluded from networks and suffered from a lack of contacts.
However, respondents also said that commissioners were averse to
taking risks with new writers. Commissioners’ perceptions may also
ghettoise women, with respondents reporting that commissioners
believe that women do not write stories that sell, making women feel
disadvantaged (IES 2006).
3.4.10 A Hollywood agent?
Writers are attracted to Hollywood because of the availability of work
and more realistic fees, and many have a Hollywood agent. A survey
into how screenwriters were hired for jobs in the years 2004 and 2005
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