International Womens Day 2020: #eachforequal at ESA
In honour of International Women’s Day on 8th March 2020 and Women’s History Month, we would like to celebrate some of the many achievements made by a selection of our inspiring women here at Elstree Screen Arts Academy (ESA), who work tirelessly to make magic happen.
The International Women’s Day organisation gives the following definition of what the day represents around the world: “International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women - while also marking a call to action for accelerating gender equality.” From this definition it is clear that it is important to both learn about and appreciate women’s history, and the waves of social change that have passed, and also to celebrate, embrace, and play our part in the ongoing movement for equality and female empowerment.
As an industry school with an arts and culture specialism, we recognise our responsibility to increase access and opportunities for under-represented creatives in the media industry. We are committed to educating all in our learning community about the social, political and cultural issues facing women today, so that we can work together to continue to challenge discrimination that still exists in wider society.
In order to explore this year’s International Women’s Day theme, #eachforequal, we are proud to highlight the achievements and voices of some of the leading young women in our creative community.
Behind the Scenes on Production: Keshi (left) and Celia (right)
Keshi (Student)
What is your role at ESA?
My previous role was Production Manager for Bring It On and I am now currently the Stage Manager for Limelight 2020! For Bring It On, I was the Production Manager, to put it simply I was the person in charge of bringing all the aspects for the show together such as lighting, sound, coordinating all the backstage crafts and technical processes. I had never been in charge of something as big as this musical and at first I didn't think I could actually do it. It was so much pressure and I didn't think I was good enough but over time with the help of my friends and teachers I got the hang of it and really enjoyed being the Production Manager. Just seeing everyone's hard work come together for the actual shows was the best feeling. It's been a couple of weeks since the final night and I genuinely miss it. Bring It On is something I will definitely remember.
What experience have you had in the entertainment industry?
I've worked on many shows as part of the set and props team such as: Loserville, DNA, Much Ado About Nothing and Christmas Carol. I enjoy working in this department as I see myself as a creative individual as it's fun to make and design things for the shows. It was only recently when shadowing the Limelight Production Manager that I was really interested in working in management and showed interest in becoming the Production Manager for Bring It On.
Feminism
It's great to see that women have a louder voice than they did before. Things like the #MeToo Movement, although heartbreaking to hear the stories that these women have gone through, it's amazing to see so many women supporting each other and helping each other out and that's so important. It was incredible to see how some of these women were so brave to share their stories and come together to challenge and stop some awful abuses of power in the film and TV industry and how this movement has helped other women outside the industry. As someone who aspires to work in the entertainment and culture industry, it does make me angry that women can get treated so horribly but this recent justice movement gives me some hope and inspires me to work in and change the industry.
Women who inspire me
If you know me well you know the one woman that inspires me is Margot Robbie. To me she's just an incredible actress who has really worked her way up in the industry. She created her own production company (Luckychap Entertainment) to provide and create more opportunities for more women to work in the film industry and having a safe environment for them to work in. She created this company to allow her to produce I,Tonya so she could star in something different and gave herself the role of Tonya Harding. She recently produced and starred in the DC film Birds of Prey and made sure that the director (Cathy Yan) and writer (Christina Hodson) were women to make sure that all the characters involved were represented well. There are so many women who inspire me, such as: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ava DuVernay, Greta Gerwig, Jameela Jamil, Greta Thunberg, the women who encountered Harvey Weinstein, the women I work with, my mum and so many more.
Celia (Student)
What is your role at ESA?
My role for Bring It On was Assistant Production Manager. For this role I was in charge of purchase orders, the budget, box office and marketing, as well as managing the crew. I really enjoyed this role as it gave me more confidence in my skills in this industry and has definitely improved my leadership skills.
What experience have you had in the entertainment industry?
I have had many different experiences in the industry, mainly at ESA, where I have worked on over ten shows. I have also worked on shows outside of college, Radlett’s production of 9 to 5 as well as having work experience at Light Fantastic.
Feminism
Feminism for me, means being able to be confident in your skills and in yourself to lead and help others. It is seeing your power, before you may have it, and using it for a good cause.
Women who inspire me
My most inspiring women are all the women involved in the #metoo movement. This movement shows the harsh realities that so many women have to face, but it is nice to see that women are becoming more confident in standing up for what has happened to them and that society isn’t letting it be the norm anymore.
Miss Christy (Staff)
What is your role?
I am the Director for Enterprise, Projects, Partnerships and Productions at ESA, essentially that means I am in charge of all of the extra-curricular shoots, work experience, careers guidance. The majority of my role is project managing the in-house production company as well as making sure that students receive a good careers provision.
What experience have you had in the entertainment industry?
For many years I acted, directed and produced theatre productions. My highlights were performing at the Cottesloe Stage at the National Theatre, performing on the Minack Stage in Cornwall and being an extra in the Edgar Wright film, Hot Fuzz.
Feminism
Essentially feminism is about equality. I think feminism is often given a bad name in the media because it is seen as a threat. But really, feminism, for me, is about achieving equal pay and opportunities for women, having equal representation in all job sectors and breaking down the stereotypes surrounding gender. In the media and film industry, we have a mission to improve the representation of gender in front of the camera by making sure there are equal opportunities behind the camera and in the writing rooms. Diversity is key to making all people feel like they have a voice and that they are heard.
Women who inspire me
I am currently reading about the actions the Suffragettes took to get Women the right to vote, so my current inspiring woman is Emmeline Pankhurst. Emmeline was born in 1858 in Manchester, into a politically active family. In 1903 she and a few others founded the Women's Social and Political Union. For almost 30 years Emmeline, her two daughters and thousands of women across the country took action against the government to get the vote. They endured prison and hunger strikes in their struggle to win the right to vote. She died just after women were granted equal voting rights with men in 1928. Her unswerving commitment and resilience to influencing change over such a long time is very inspiring. Big change doesn’t happen quickly, but it does happen.
As these inspiring insights show, it is important in our college that we take moments like international women’s day to reflect on the culture we are creating here, and to give visibility to our young women who are breaking through the barriers and shattering glass ceilings everyday, simply by committing to their creative decisions. If you would like further information on any of the topics discussed in this article please visit the International Women’s Day website: https://www.internationalwomensday.com
Written by Lauren Andrews, ESA Film Producer and Social Media Marketing Officer
Contact: lauren.andrews@esaacademy.org