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The Conversation: Women in Hollywood: Who runs the film industry?

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Women in Hollywood: Who runs the film industry?

13/03/2023 GMT

BBC World Service - The Conversation, Women in Hollywood: Who runs the film industry?

Producers Keri Putnam and Stephanie Allain on why so few women get to make movies

There is an impressive list of female creatives on this year's Oscar nominees list – actors, producers, costume designers - but no female directors. In fact, in the Academy’s 94-year-history, only seven women have ever been nominated. Why is that? And what is getting in the way of achieving gender parity in filmmaking? Kim Chakanetsa travels to the heart of Hollywood to find out more.  

Keri Putnam is a film executive and producer and the founder of Putnam Pictures. She served for 11 years as the CEO of the Sundance Institute which runs the Sundance Film Festival. Prior to that worked as a senior executive at Miramax and HBO. She is also the co-founder of Re-frame, an organisation providing mentorship and training to help women making it into the industry, and served 3 terms on the Women in Film Board of directors.   

Stephanie Allain is a film Producer and writer and the newly-elected co-President of the Producers Guild of America, the first woman of colour to serve as PGA president. Stephanie was one of the original ReFrame ambassadors and served 3 terms on the WIF Board of Directors including 9 years as Vice President. Stephanie was also the first Black woman to produce the Academy Awards in 2020. She runs her own company, Homegrown Pictures, which focuses on creating content by and about women and people of colour.

Producers: Alice Gioia, Jane Thurlow, Hetal Bapodra 
Sound recording: Devin Pinckard
Production assistant: Abbie Bulbulian

(Image: (L) Stephanie Allain (R) Keri Putnam. Credit: Devin Pinckard)

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