What Advertisers Can Learn From a Women's Film Festival

Last weekend I attended The Athena Film Festival - a celebration of women and leadership in New York. 

The festival included films by and about women.  The subject matter highlighted the wide diversity of women’s leadership in both real life and the fictional world.

Film is a medium known to nearly all people in nearly every part of the world. And films have power. They create conversation. They reveal truths. They inspire. Through feature films, documentaries, and shorts, the Festival will explore what makes a leader

So many things struck me about the movies, the panels, and the festival as a whole.  There are so many amazing women's stories that aren't being told.   There are so many inspirational women leaders who we aren't being acknowledged.  There's a desperately needed point of view that's not being heard.  The Athena Film Festival is one gigantic step towards changing that.

But there was another theme throughout the festival that really got my attention - and it was this:

The importance and strength of  the bonds between women.

• Women in the Niger Delta threatening "The Naked Option", a cultural tabu in order to protest oil companies in their land.
• A female chief who created a village for outcast women
• Two Iranian girls rebelling against an opressive society
• The friendship between Gloria Steinem and Bella Abzug
•  A henna artist helping a breast cancer survivor feel beautiful again

Over and over you saw women coming together either one-on-one or in groups to help each other, support each other, and accomplish amazing things.

Why advertisers need to pay attention to these messages

I've written before about the power of friendship, especially in marketing and ads.  We so rarely see examples of female friendship in any medium from marketing to movies.

How bad is it in Hollywood?  Here's an update.

The Bechdel Test

The Bechdel Test measures female presence and importance to plot in Hollywood movies. In order to pass the test a film must have two or more women, with names, who talk to each other about something other than men.  (The bar is set pretty darn low here, so you'd think plenty of films could pass, but surprisingly few do.)

 

This is beyond sad.    And for so many reasons.  But one big one is we are not seeing women's friendships and bonds represented in movies. 

The very few films that do focus on female friendships and bonds - Bridesmaids, The Help have been incredibly successful. 

So advertisers and marketers - If you're looking for a creative angle that will help you be more successful in your efforts to market to women, feature female friendships in your ads.  

Best movie of the festival

There were so many amazing films it's hard to choose one, but I must say Circumstance was absolutely stunning.  It was the Sundance 2011 Audience Award Winner and the theatre was standing room only.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

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The Bechdel Test has an interesting concept and makes a strong commentary on the state of women's portrayal in mainstream cinema.

[Darien]

Interesting concept, had not thought about it. It's another way to communicate the message with visual marketing, but can it be seen as a bit of a pink branding strategy?

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[Yuda]

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[Daniel]

Another point, I am glad there are no decent self-help books for men! Men don't need it (at least for danitg phase). Why teach men how to fake interest in women? It would make women's danitg lives even harder. As it is, we have to cut through tons of bs. Imagine if men started being all courteous to girls they don't fancy. It would be much harder to discern his real level of interest in me since they would learn to disguise lack of interest much better.Self-help books for single men do exist. They belong to how to get laid fast section. I tried reading some material (to evaluate level of danger). Well, let's just say I am not at all afraid of being speed seduced . Why would a poor fellow pay $100+ for such instructions is beyond me. But I guess, if there is supply, there gotta be demand somewhere.

[Basil]

Does your country utknreade the systematic collection and analysis of sex-disaggregated environment data? In your country, are women represented in the fields addressing sustainable development ? If not, how do you think this will affect your nation’s policy development on the issue?I am sharing in this discussion to reply to these questions, especially after our great revolution in Egypt. As a start, my position at work as a woman architect from the Middle East, I am the Head of the Architecture department, Faculty of Fine Arts, Helwan University Cairo egypt. The department has 40 faculty members among them are only 5 women and i am one of them. secondly to respond to the green issue, at the HBRC, cairo Egypt, there is a new trend today to create the Green Pyramids which is equivalent to the LEED in the USA, and the BREAAM in the United Kingdom. Half of the members of the 7 green committees responsible for this development are Egyptian professional women and i am among one of them. By this introduction, I am just trying to describe the Egyptian women situation especially after the 25th of january revolution. women are active in many ways, and talking on their behalf, I should add that we are struggling very hard ti prove our ability and our definite important role in creating the new Egypt.

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The celebration was served to help women indulging to leadership to have a good and proper skill to lead others. I admire women who love to do this job.

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