BACKLASH - THE NEW VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
The U.S. Supreme Court bans the right to abortion, police report a sharp increase in domestic violence, on TikTok fantasies of killing women become a trend. The thesis: this backlash is a reaction to increasing equality. The new book by Susanne Kaiser will be published on 18.2.2023. Learn more about the book
ARTIST LAB "FAIR ART FUNDING "
How does the current heterogeneous funding landscape influence the work of freelance artists? Which social discrimination or exclusion factors are reproduced in it and which changes in the system can counteract this? At the invitation of Helena Kontoudakis, Sara Sommerfeldt of Rising Gaze participated in the Artist Lab "Promoting Art Justly", which was funded by the Fonds Darstellende Künste and presented at B.A.L.L. (Nationwide Artist Lab of Labs) at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele. Read the results here
PORTRAYAL OF GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE ON GERMAN TV
The media shape our perception of reality and thus have a special responsibility. This is all the more true for a socially pressing issue such as gender-based violence. A study sponsored by the MaLisa Foundation and UFA GmbH provides the first representative overview of how audiovisual media portray this delicate topic. Click here for the study
OPEN LETTER FROM THE "FAIR SHARE!" ALLIANCE
13 organizations and initiatives from the creative industries have joined forces across sectors to call for a gender-equal distribution of government funding in the arts and media - including Pro Quote Film, Pro Quote Stage, Writing with CARE/RAGE, Theaterautor:innen-Netzwerk, More Mothers for the Arts and Dramaturgie-Netzwerk. They also demand to finally make it easier for parents and care-takers to re-enter the workforce.
Open letter to government-financed funding agencies (PDF)
Women artists with children demand: New funding models - now!
Unfair funding structures - Open letter of the "Fair share!" alliance (Comacon Magazine)
PODCAST ON THE TOPIC OF #METOO
Abuse of power exists not only in the film industry, but also in the textile industry, for example in factories in Asia. Why everyone has the same problem - and how it could be solved - are discussed by actress Leslie Malton (Chair of BFFS), Sara Sommerfeldt (Rising Gaze Productions) and Julia Thimm (Head of Human Rights at Tchibo). Listen to podcast
RISING GAZE AT THE GREEN ACTORS LOUNGE
"#metoo - Fashion and Movie - Do German actors and Asian seamstresses have the same problems?" Panel with Dr. Hajo Schumacher (Moderation), Sara Sommerfeldt (Rising Gaze Productions), Leslie Malton (BFFS) and Julia Thimm (Head of Human Rights Tchibo). Watch the video here
The identity debate is changing the art of acting. That also brings problems. A very interesting ZEIT essay by Susanne Kaiser. Read the article here
AMAZON STUDIOS IS COMMITTED TO GREATER DIVERSITY
Amazon Studios has released an Inclusion Policy and Playbook to expand the company's commitment to diversity and equality. More about the Amazon Playbook here
TAISIYA SCHUMACHER ABOUT HER OUTING AS ROMNI
Actress Taisiya Schumacher was known to many only by her other first name, Christina: she came out as a Romni last year. Watch the interview on LIVE NACH NEUN here
DOES THE CASTING COUCH REALLY EXIST?
Dr. Mark Benecke interviewed Sara Sommerfeldt and Helena Kontoudakis on the occasion of their open letter to the lawyers of Dieter Wedel. A conversation about abuse of power in the film industry, rape myths and whether acting has something to do with lying. View here
FEMICIDES ON TV: YOUNG, FEMALE, DEAD
A normal week on German television from SOKO Stuttgart, Laim to Basque crime shows: Our mass media culture is downright obsessed with female murder victims. Women who emancipate themselves and go their own way are constantly being killed in crime novels. A comment by Susanne Kaiser for Deutschlandfunk Kultur. Listen here
HUNDREDS OF STAGE AND FILM CREATORS SIGN OPEN LETTER
"It is an encouraging kind of German premiere," writes EMMA about our open letter. “Over 500 filmmakers criticize Dieter Wedel's three defense lawyers.” Reason: “They spread“ rape myths from the moth box ”by making the alleged victim unbelievable before the trial began”. The Süddeutsche Zeitung even speaks of the "biggest possible accident in the field of ligitation PR", because "what was probably planned as a clever move" has become "a boomerang". So far, more than 600 people have signed, including well-known theater and filmmakers such as Anika Decker, Carolin Kebekus, Jasmin Tabatabai, Claudia Michelsen, Julia von Heinz, Bibiana Beglau, Connie Walther, Isabel Kleefeld, Peter Lohmeyer, Johann von Bülow, Simon Verhoeven, Anne Tismer, Tom Lass, Jochen Schropp, Marie Schleef, Stefan Otteni, Elias Perrig, David Rott, Jan Bosse, Maren Kroymann and many more. Thank you all for your tremendous support!
SPIEGEL: Hundreds of stage and filmmakers criticize statements by Wedel's lawyers
EMMA: Is the woman lying again?
RND: Dieter Wedel - Hundreds of filmmakers criticize his lawyers
WDR 1: Filmmakers criticize Wedel's lawyers
Süddeutsche: Justizia hears pretty well
BAD BLOG OF MUSICK: Rape Myths and Dieter Wedel
OPEN LETTER TO DIETER WEDEL'S LAWYERS
RAPE MYTHS FROM THE MOTH BOX - a reply by Sara Sommerfeldt, Helena Kontoudakis, Angelika Zacek, Eva Jankowski and France-Elena Damian. Click here for the open letter