Brussels, Belgium – A new generation of female filmmakers is gaining prominenceโข in โFlanders‘ โฃtelevision production industry, thoughโ progress toward full gender parity remains uneven, industry insiders report.While more women are entering film and animation programs and taking onโฃ leadership roles, systemic challenges persist, according to recent interviews.
Directors like Van Deuren andโ De Boeck are already influencingโ aspiring filmmakers, and a โขrise in female โenrollment in fiction filmmaking programs has โbeen observed. “Around three years ago, weโค started seeing more โคwomenโค directors, and you have more women graduating in fiction filmmaking than before,” stated Hilde Declercq.
The shift extends โto animation,with Britt Raes,adapting herโ Berlin-selected short “Luce and โคthe Rock” โขinto an animated series for VRT‘s Ketnet,notingโ a “noticeable shift” in the number of women studying the craft. She highlighted Emma De Swaef, co-director of Netflix’s “The House,” as an inspiring example of Flemish talent achieving international recognition. “A โseries like that is quite a big thing to โhave on your resume, and it’s unbelievable for someone young to see that โsomeone from Flanders can reach that,” Raes said.
the upcoming comedy series “BOHO,” produced โfor Streamz, exemplifiesโ this progress, boasting an all-female team of heads of department. Director Olympia Allaert described the experiance as “amazing,” emphasizing the importanceโ of female perspectives for a series centered on the lives of three 30-something women in โAntwerp. “especiallyโ for a series like this, it was vital to have an understanding of what the characters feel and go through,” she added.
Though, veteran producer helen Perquy of โJonnydepony cautioned that recent โฃgains might potentially be โfragile. “Decisionmakersโ are choosing safety,whatever that means. I feel they have become more conservative and, unfortunatly, womenโฃ still aren’t seen โas the safe option. Itโ sounds cynical, butโ the whiteโข man is back,”โ she observed, adding that she has felt aโฃ setback in the industry in โthe last five years.
Raes and Declercqโข echoed this sentiment, acknowledging that while access to the industryโฃ is improving, women still face hurdles. “It’s not that the doors are closed for me, butโฃ I might haveโ to knock when a man just has to โwalk through,” Raes explained. “I’m OK knocking on those doors, but not everyone has the energy or the conditions to knock and knock and knock.”
Karla Puttemans, the new CEOโ at VAF, affirmed โthe institution’s commitment to gender parity but acknowledged the ongoing instability. “The gender balance remains unstable and uncertain, so โwe remainโ vigilant and continueโฃ to โฃencourage and stimulate the sector on this โฃimportant issue.”
