Female-Driven Filmmaking, Gendered Value, and the International Festival Marketplace

Dr. Courtney Brannon Donoghue — Assistant Professor, Department of Media Arts, University of North Texas

Thursday, February 17th, 3:30–4:45 PM CT

Location: CMA 5.136

Zoom Link: https://utexas.zoom.us/j/93467189213

From launching world premieres to negotiating distribution deals, major international film festivals like Toronto, Cannes, and Venice play a vital role in the global marketplace. Alongside the emergence of #MeToo and Time’s Up movements, these annual events are under increased scrutiny for contributing to widespread gender inequities within a historically male-dominated industry. This presentation explores the powerful role of international festivals and film markets as industry gatekeepers through a media industry studies lens. From historical disparities in acceptance rates for female-driven films to the lack of diversity in critics reviewing festival selections, emerging female filmmakers not only face common barriers in applying to and participating in major North American and European festivals but also do not gain access to the same career opportunities and advantages as male peers.

Courtney Brannon Donoghue is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Media Arts at the University of North Texas. Her research areas include Conglomerate Hollywood and international operations, local-language productions, Brazilian film and television, distribution cultures, and female-driven filmmaking. Brannon Donoghue is the author of Localising Hollywood (BFI, 2017) and co-editor of Digital Media Distribution: Portals, Platforms, Pipelines (NYU Press, 2021). Her next book, How She’s Valued: Female-Driven Films from Pitch to Premiere, examining gender disparities and barriers for female-driven filmmaking is under contract with the University of Texas Press. Her publications have appeared in Media, Culture & Society, Cinema Journal, Feminist Media Studies, and various edited collections. She serves on the board of directors for the Society of Cinema and Media Studies. Brannon Donoghue is a proud alum of UT’s Department of Radio-Television-Film where she earned her MA and Ph.D.