01-12-2021

North Macedonia Film Agency Launches Women in Film Initiative

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    SKOPJE: The North Macedonia Film Agency has started an initiative to single out the women who have excelled in the Macedonian film industry in 2021. Actresses Teuta Ajdini Jegeni, Sara Klimoska and Antonija Belazelkoska, directors Marija Apcevska, Dina Duma, Petra Seliskar, Teona Strugar Mitevska, Tamara Kotevska, and producer and actress Labina Mitevska make up the list of the first-ever inclusion initiative.

    The aim of the Women in Film initiative is to profile women working in the screen industries, to advocate for and advance their careers, and to act as a platform that will allow them to continue with their work, to promote equality and encourage more women to join the industry.

    A total of eight weeks are dedicated to social media promotion including branded photos, reviews, photo and video materials from festival participation, official trailers of the films, and interviews with each of the candidates. The promotion will end with a forum at the beginning of 2022 when all the candidates will talk about the presence of women in film in general, but also the upcoming challenges in the film industry.

    “This initiative already has a great impact. We are most pleased that there is constant support from the filmmakers themselves and what is most important for us, the public,” the Agency stated for FNE.

    In 2018, The Agency announced the Women in the Film Industry strategy for the next five years, in order to raise the percentage of female auteurs. Only 21 percent of the films supported by the agency in the last 10 years have been directed by women, and they are mostly short films and documentaries. In 2019, two out of the six films released were helmed by female directors which is more than a 10 percent increase compared to previous years.