The session followed other reflections on women’s careers in film at the festival, both in its Women’s Empowerment section and at an animation symposium held earlier the same day on the past, present and future of four women working as directors in the anime industry.
Both filmmakers said getting the means to make a film often requires a certain conformity.
“It was also like that back in Yugoslavia,” Maksimović said, “even though it was a very progressive country there were a lot more male directors […] but things started changing in the Balkans after the Yugoslav Wars… not because of that, but because we moved into more progressive times.”
There are external factors too, such as where the money for film funds comes from. Maksimović said Film Center Serbia “worked decently” for a few years, until the outgoing government cut off its funding entirely in retaliation for filmmakers’ frequent support of the student anti-corruption protests.
Later, Maksimović returned to the topic, saying there is a certain solidarity among filmmakers making less mainstream features, but that it’s also a “certain kind of bubble,” one separate from what she called “big funding.”
“We didn’t dare to apply to the big funding to get more money for our films because we knew we wouldn’t get the money there,” she said. She hopes the student movement’s victory gives the system a chance to be overhauled. “I’m very proud that I’m coming from Serbia today because students really showed us that it’s possible,” she said.
She said the gender gap in funding is “treated so normally,” and that a lack of proper development support and equal treatment is why there were so few films by women in competition at Venice this year. Only one of the 20 films in the Venice competition, May el-Toukhy’s “Woman Unknown,” was directed by a woman.
“I know people are trying to change things, but are they really changing? Or are they just putting things into boxes?” she said.
