Breaking the Frame – Balkan Women Reimagine Cinema
A full day conference in Tirana conceived as a space for dialogue and engagement, bringing together directors, producers, national fund managers and representatives from Albania, Kosovo, Greece, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Cyprus, France and European institutions such as Eurimages (Enrico Vannicci) , the Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (Agnès Toullieux) and EWA Network, represented by Rumena Ivanova.
The conference was organized by the Albanian Women in Audiovisual (AWA) with the support of the Embassy of France in Albania, the French Institute in Tirana, and the Albanian National Center of Cinematography.
The conference took place on 25 February at the Albanian Film Center. The full program, including all panelists, can be found HERE.
With the clear goal of shifting the focus from identifying problems to implementing solutions, the discussions centred on the structural barriers women face when making their first film, the challenges and opportunities of regional co-productions, and the need for robust gender equality policies in funding schemes. The message that emerged from the conference was clear: women in cinema are not just asking for a voice; they are shaping the industry themselves.
The conference opened with a keynote on the French Model: "Policy as Practice" by Agnes Toulliex from CNC France. Agnes Toulliex from CNC France presented gender equality policies and the 15% funding bonus mechanism. Through its gender-equality policies, the CNC provides an additional 15% of certain public support funds for films demonstrating gender parity in key creative and technical roles.
Next was a presentation on the European landscape: "Gender Statistics and Co-Production Findings Across Europe", by Enrico Vannucci, Deputy Director of Eurimages.
The conference continued with the first panel, "From Policy to Practice: Transforming National Film Funds", which saw Balkan film fund executives discuss how their countries support gender equality and promote women in cinema. The following countries were represented: Bulgaria, Albania and Cyprus. Sashko Potter Micevski from North Macedonia and Athena Kartalou from Greece were unable to attend. It appeared that these countries' capacity to introduce gender-equality policies or new measures to promote female professionals was limited due to the size of their markets. Nevertheless, each country is making efforts to contribute within its means.
The second panel, moderated by Sabina Kodra, dealt with the glass ceiling. "Breaking the 15% Ceiling: Women Directors on the Front Lines".
Rumena Ivanova took part in the third panel, "Beyond Borders: Building Co-Production Pathways”, which was moderated by Laëtitia Kulyk, the French audiovisual attaché for the region based in Belgrade.
The discussion focused on film production, particularly the challenges female producers face in financing their projects and finding suitable partners. The importance of professional training and networking events in building strong collaborations and identifying suitable partners for film projects was emphasised. These partners could be co-producers, distributors, sales agents, commissioning editors or others. Rumena argued that the success of a co-production hinges on effective project packaging and building a cohesive team capable of collaborating throughout the entire process, from development to distribution.
