At the moment all the talk in Hollywood is of the Oscars and diversity, you have those saying it is the Academy's fault and then there are those who blame the industry as a whole, but it really is everyone's fault!
The big blockbusters are mainly white macho movies and with huge box office earnings -- that's what people rush to see in droves. So if you have something to offer that is a little more diverse then you're already off to a bad start, add to that two female leads and no male lead, then the final nail in the coffin is a woman director, you are on the road to a disaster! And that is exactly what we are doing, maybe if we called it a disaster film rather than an equality film we would have more success, but we are sticking to being diverse because if we stay home and don't stick our necks out we will never be seen and never be heard!
When my wife and I started this film project we were completely new to the world of filmmaking but we knew we had an important story to tell, we are lucky to have a fantastic cast and crew and they all believe in the project and that helps carry us forward. In particular we are very proud of our director Cate Carson, she has been the backbone to the whole project, we know how hard she has worked on every level and as a female director she deserves to get the same opportunities every male director gets. What we know is only together can we bring about change and we are ALL accountable. We know from our own personal experience of fighting for marriage equality that when all our voices come together they are so much louder and clearer. So as women we must take an invested interested in not just who we are watching but who's behind the camera too. Someone I respect very highly is Geena Davis and her work through the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in the Media; she works tirelessly to help the cause for women providing important information we might otherwise not know.
As women make up half the population if we don't choose to go and see films with strong female leads or notice who's behind the camera then we can never expect to move forward, let's face it it's always about bums on seats. Just think about what films you actually went to see at the cinema this year, were there many independents on your list or were they all mainstream, did many have female leads? We love seeing all types of films, there was a time when we actually went to the cinema three times a week and we do love the independent films. We have had a lot of interest in our film, Status Unknown, and since we released the trailer we have heard from a number of interested film festivals which included the Raindance Film Festival, along with some great reviews.
The biggest problem we have faced making our film has been the fundraising, we've been so lucky having the support of family, friends and even people whom we've never met who have donated as PROUD supporters and who have got us this far. Currently our film is being edited and it also needs sound engineering and we are struggling to raise the last money needed to complete it. So with the Oscars in your mind as the conversation continues about diversity take a moment to watch our trailer for Status Unknown and help us get it made or are we too diverse for YOU?
To support Status Unknown please visit www.hart2hartproductions.com