How to Heal Cinema

Gaylene Gould and Mia Bays, Director of Birds Eye View Film, hosted a conversation-workshop exploring ways that cinema and its' workers can begin to heal from the culture of male violence toward women.   Abuses of women committed by men working in film and TV, has opened a deep wound and highlighted the structural power imbalances that scaffold the industry. Many women working in film carry generations of pain making the need for healing spaces within the industry crucial. What might such spaces look and feel like ?

 

Participants explored creative practices from a range of practitioners that might help tackle and transform the trauma embedded within cinema's culture and our own bodies and stories.

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Shumela Ahmed of Resilience Learning Partnership gave insight into the critical importance of building Trauma Informed media organisations and sectors.

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Author and activist, Winnie M Li previously worked in film producing and festivals. Her award-winning debut novel, Dark Chapter, is a fictional retelling of her real-life stranger rape, from both victim and perpetrator perspectives. She is currently adapting it for screen. Her next novel Complicit (pub. 2022) is set in the film industry and explores gendered violence and harassment. Winnie will talk about her own work and share some short creative writing exercises also useful for releasing the effects of trauma. 

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This event is part of the BFI Woman With A Movie Camera Summit. Tickets can be bought here:

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Still from Daughters of the Dust by Julie Dash