A series of high-profile names have committed to speaking at CARLA 2020, a digital conference focusing on creating lasting structural change in the film and TV industries post-COVID-19.
Keynote speakers will include Belle filmmaker Amma Asante, new Sundance director Tabitha Jackson, Swedish Film Institute CEO Anna Serner, and broadcaster Mo Abudu. They will open the conference with a series of talks on August 21.
Following on August 22 will be a series of speeches, in-conversations, roundtables and networkings events focusing on the subjects of diversity and inclusion. Panelists will discuss best practises and form new initiatives to guide the biz into a better future after the coronavirus crisis has receded. Subjects will include the mechanisms of power, racism, unconscious bias, intersectionality, sexual harassment, safety on set, and decolonizing narratives.
Speakers will include director Paul Feig, who is a recent addition so hasn’t had his specific involvement confirmed yet, but in the past has been outspoken on the subject of the representation of women on screen, particularly after the backlash that followed his all-female Ghostbusters reboot.
Also signed up are The Glorias director Julie Taymor, The Terminator producer Gale Anne Hurd, Community actress Yvette Nicole Brown, and intimacy director Ita O’Brien.
The event will be moderated by Melissa Silverstein, Women and Hollywood, Wendy Mitchell, journalist and festival consultant, Victoria Thomas, London Film School, Themba Bhebhe, European Film Market and Johanna Koljonen, journalist and media analyst.
It will also host the launch of Women in the International Film Industry: Policy, Practice and Power, a new book by Susan Liddy which analyses the scale and impact of gender inequality in industries across the world. The Swedish Film Institute will also present a report on racism and ageism in the film industry.
“Carla 2020 is an innovative collaboration within the global film and television industries. We’re aligning research and practice to forge new and bold paths forward. Carla is all about creating change in a time when we so desperately need it,” said Helene Granqvist, President of Women in Film & Television International, which presents the conference.
“I’m very proud to be a part of Carla 2020 and to add my voice to the extraordinary women who are a part of this initiative in levelling the playing field. The Glorias, my forthcoming film based on the life of Gloria Steinem, received its ReFrame stamp at the Sundance Film Festival this past January. It is a film that bridges women across cultures and races with a unifying call to justice, equality and activism,” added Julie Taymor.
The full event will run August 21-23 and is free to register via the conference’s website.
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