Femme Force: This Year’s Women and Film Programme

Last year, Finále presented for the first time a special programme section dedicated to strong female voices in Czech cinema: Women and Film. This year, the section returns with two unique programme blocks, created in collaboration with the Girls in Film platform.

Elizaveta Maximová × Daria Kashcheeva

Actress Elizaveta Maximová has chosen filmmaker Daria Kashcheeva as her inspirational personality. Together, they will appear on Saturday, 27 September at 5:00 p.m. in Jonáš Hall, where audiences will see five of Daria’s films. The screening includes her internationally acclaimed shorts, Daughter and Electra, as well as three earlier student works: Oasis; In a Dumpster; and Prague: A Foreigners’ Perspective. The screening will be followed by a discussion – a live podcast recording for Heroine magazine.

“I consider Daria a truly exceptional artist who, thanks to her talent, hard work, and vision, sets the bar not only for Czech but also for international filmmakers. I enjoy her work and admire her courage to explore difficult and controversial topics and greatly value her speech at the Czech Lion Awards. With her work and activism – not only in relation to women’s issues – she stirs debate and the stale waters of Czech cinema”, explains Elizaveta Maximová.

And what is Daria Kashcheeva’s perspective on women in film? “Being a woman has never been an obstacle for me at work, and for a long time I didn't feel any limitations related to my gender – I say this from my own experience. But that changed when I started to think more seriously about motherhood – mainly from a practical point of view. At that moment, I realized that in the current setting in society, the system of support for mothers and parents in Czechia in general, and freelance artists in particular, my gender would become a significant limitation in a job with such high pressure on work intensity. And especially in my specific situation, where my partner and I had no family background in Czechia and we were both freelance artists, motherhood would mean a major limitation for my directing work, especially in auteur film. I then began to research this issue more and came across statistics that only confirmed my worries. The number of women and men at film schools is fairly balanced, but after graduation - precisely at the age when people start families - women disappear from the profession in significant numbers. That is why I raised this issue at last year's Czech Lion Awards ceremony. I am glad that it sparked a broader debate, regardless of the circumstances surrounding its cause and support. The important thing is that the topic has begun to be discussed and researched, data collected, and a more concrete idea formulated about the conditions women, especially mothers, face in Czech cinema. However, I consider it equally important to look at the conditions for men who are parents. The opportunities available to fathers who actively care for their children directly influence the opportunities available to mothers - filmmakers. Similarly, working mothers would benefit greatly from social normalization of the idea that fathers can be active caregivers. I would like to see this go beyond mere debate and lead to practical steps that give women as parents in our profession the same opportunities as their male colleagues,” she says.

And Elizaveta Maximová adds: “I thought that the position of women in the film industry had improved significantly in recent years, but according to the results of the ARASU study - Women in Film - we have specific data that speaks for itself. Unfortunately, women in the main film professions are still such a significant minority in our country that they cannot achieve a standard position in relation to their male colleagues. I am glad that, thanks in part to Darja's speech mentioned above, the topic of motherhood among female filmmakers has finally been brought into the open. In the Czech Republic, the official shooting day is 12 hours, but overtime is absolutely common, and on top of that, we have to add the commute to and from the set. When a female filmmaker returns home after fourteen to sixteen hours, her second shift - caring for her children - automatically begins, which is a huge burden. That's why I admire every female filmmaker who decides to have a child. Sure, the older generation says, "We managed, you can manage it, too," but I ask, at what cost? I feel that the ‘more experienced’ often don't even remember it or have suppressed it. Moreover, not every woman has the support of grandparents or a partner who can help her care for the child. When we talk about this with our foreign filmmaker colleagues, such schedule is often science fiction for them, because they usually shoot 8 to 10 hours a day. And for anyone interested in this topic, I recommend listening to the episode ‘Why women in Czech audiovisual media are dissatisfied’ in the Pitch podcast. This episode is a recording of a debate on the involvement of women in key professions in the Czech film industry, which took place a year ago as part of the Finále Plzeň festival. The topic was discussed by female filmmakers whom I greatly admire - cinematographer Klára Belicová, director Diana Cam Van Nguen, producers Julie Žáčková and Dagmar Sedláčková, actress Alžběta Malá, and sociologist Hana Voleková.”

The second programme block focuses on set decorator Beatrice Brentnerová, who was nominated for an Oscar this year for her work on Nosferatu (2024). She will personally introduce a screening of the film on Sunday, 28 September at 7:00 p.m. at the House of Music, followed by a discussion about her work on the film.

And what does Beatrice Brentnerová think about women in film? “The project I’m currently working on is staffed mostly by women in creative positions, and it brings a very different approach – women tend to be more emotional, which naturally influences the creative process. When I started 30 years ago, there were very few women in film, but today the situation is incomparable. But, for example in France, you can find women even in departments like set construction, still considered a male domain in the Czech Republic. On the contrary, in the field of decorating, as well as in other departments, the ratio of women to men is now balanced, both here and abroad, which was not the case ten years ago. My experience is that balance between men and women works best – each brings something unique that enriches the creative environment,” she says.