7 July 2021 | Cinema
The San Sebastian Festival eliminates gender in its acting awards
The San Sebastian Festival follows in the footsteps of the Berlinale and will award only one prize per category for acting, regardless of the gender of the candidates.
«To help the incorporation and presence of women in the audiovisual industry and to have more stories about women and more leading actresses» were two of the reasons that Maialen Beloki, deputy director of the San Sebastian Festival, gave by way of explanation after the announcement of the elimination of the best actress and best actor categories, which will now be merged into a single Silver Shell for best acting.
Although their intention is good and might even seem obvious at first, this decision has open a conversation in professional and film-loving circles that deserves to be taken into account, because it is not very clear whether amalgamating the two categories into one is really going to benefit women.
To begin with, things for women in the Spanish film industry are not exactly a bed of roses. According to the Spanish Actors and Actresses Union, actors account for 70% of the roles, while actresses can only aspire to 30% of the characters. Moreover, the budgets of films directed by women are, on average, 51% lower than those directed by men (CIMA Report). This matters because female directors tend to give leading roles to women, so, in this scenario, it does not seem that it will be easy to achieve parity in the nomination process.
The San Sebastian Festival is by no means the first to implement this change. The Berlinale announced last year that it would also leave gender aside when judging the professional achievements of actors and actresses. There are other well-known and prestigious awards in the audiovisual world that have also tried this system. The oldest are those of the Television Critics Association of America, which gives out awards each year for «Individual Achievement» in drama and comedy to an actor or actress. Since 1997, when they started using this category, and until 2017, 15 of the 20 drama awards had gone to men and 13 of 20 of the comedy awards had also gone to male actors. In the last five years they have balanced the scales, but that has more to do with the irrefutable strength of the feminist movement and the vigilance to which it subjects institutions and organisations.
So, on the one hand, as the Union of Actors and Actresses says: «Actresses have far less visibility than actors and this decision aggravates that situation». And on the other hand, we have the management of the San Sebastian Festival who, by the way, also gives a shout out to the LGTBI+ community in their decision: «What we wanted, above all, is that those people who do not ascribe to a gender could have a space and a place in the list of winners, because until now they didn't have it. The aim of the festival is to be as inclusive as possible».
Che serà, serà... We have no choice but to see how this initiative develops in the coming years and remain attentive to ensure that parity and inclusion become a reality.
At the Hotel Zinema7 you can stay in a room dedicated to big stars, men and women. If you have a preference for the Orson or the Catherine, please ask us when you make your booking. We can't promise anything, but we'll try.
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