In 2014 Film Hub Central East supported the Nottinghamshire charity Equation and their new film club, Reel Equality, which was set up to counter the dominance of male-focused stories and tired female gender stereotypes in the mainstream film industry. They show feature films every month that tell diverse and interesting women-centred stories.
Summary
The stories we tell on the big screen should reflect the diversity of human experience. The Reel Equality Film Club wants to see the film industry increase and diversify its representation of women to produce an equal representation of human stories in film. This would contribute towards the achievement of real-world equality between people whatever their gender, race, class, age, sexual orientation or circumstance.
Project aims
Provide an equality-focused alternative to mainstream cinema
Inspire and facilitate demand for change
Demonstrate the value of gender diversity in film and film programming
Headlines
Two successful seasons of anti-sexism film screenings
Large ticket sales, with 90%+ tickets sold in advance
Development of relationships with commercial venues
Won Best New Film Society at the Cinema for All Awards 2015
Films
Four initial screenings as part of the first season of Reel Equality - Beasts of the Southern Wild, Lemon Tree, Gloria, and Tomboy.
Reel Equality have since gone on to screen Difret, Made in Dagenham, Suffragette, and Wadjda.
Key partnerships
The charity Equation led on the project with support from Film Hub Central East, partner venues have included Broadway Nottingham, Savoy Cinema, New Art Exchange, Screen 22, and International Community Centre.
Budget in brief
Film Hub Central East awarded Reel Equality with £2,000, with the remaining budget generated through the charity Equation and ticket sales.
What worked
grassroots approach
working with charity outside of the industry
online strategy - facebook, youtube, twitter
What has been difficult
a variety of venues, with screenings taking place at different venues across the city can lead to challenges with audiences.
press coverage
What you would do differently if you did it again
The only limit to this project has been geographical, with the charity only working in Nottinghamshire it becomes a pity that Reel Equality has been limited to only there.
What audiences said
We used the opportunity at our last screening for gathering general audience feedback on the season. The most common responses to what audiences like about the club was its ‘friendly atmosphere’, ‘film quality’ and ‘the cause’.
Press coverage
http://www.leftlion.co.uk/articles.cfm/title/reel-equality/id/6907
http://cinemaforall.org.uk/advice/case-studies/reel-equality/
http://www.nottinghamlive.co.uk/live/interview-chloe-cheeseman-reel-equality/
http://nottinghamalternativefilmnetwork.com/2015/05/03/reel-equality-ensures-nobody-is-clueless-less/
