New Female-Centred Initiative Aiming to Address Issues of Gender Imbalance in Irish Film Industry Launched
Posted: 24th September 2019
X-Pollinator is an ambitous and exciting new professional development and networking initiative aiming to kickstart collaborations between female writing and directing talent. The goal of X-Pollinator is to take positive action to rapidly address the gender imbalance in the Irish audiovisual industry.
The initiative was conceived by leading film and television producer Katie Holly (Love & Friendship, Extra Ordinary) and developed in collaboration with theatre, arts and film producer Lara Hickey (Where We Live, THISISPOPBABY). X-Pollinator is supported by BAI, Screen Skills Ireland, Screen Ireland and Creative Europe Desk Ireland and is presented in association with The Lir Academy.
Taking place over two weekends on 2nd / 3rd November and 7th / 8th December in Dublin City Centre, X-Pollinator invites applications to participate from female writing and directing talent, both emerging and established, working in any discipline including film, theatre, literature, comedy and visual arts. However, producers of any gender are invited to apply.
The X-Pollinator weekends will offer a carefully curated programme of talks, masterclasses, panel discussions, break-out sessions and keynote speeches from esteemed artists and industry figures, sharing their approach and experiences to inspire and inform participants. The initiative will also address the business and practical side of creative screen content and navigating the audio-visual industry.The first wave of speakers will be announced shortly.
BAI Chief Executive, Michael O’Keeffe said, “The BAI is proud to support X-Pollinator, which will bring together professionals in the audiovisual sector to promote and celebrate female talent. We want to see more female leaders and creative partnerships to address the gender imbalance in the audiovisual industry and foster a media landscape that better represents the diversity of Irish society. X-Pollinator is an innovative project that will inspire and encourage 150 participants to share ideas, form new creative partnerships and bring more women to the forefront of the audiovisual industry.”
The initiative will also provide crucial facilitated networking opportunities to make connections between participants and build the female creative teams of the future.
Commenting on this, Producer and Course Director, Katie Holly, said, “I’m excited about the potential the X-Pollinator initiative has to build teams and advance the careers of the next generation of female Irish talent. Having participated in the first Catalyst scheme, I developed relationships with so many creative collaborators and peers, and two of my first features came directly from attending those weekends, as did many more films from other teams. I’m looking forward to being inspired by the brilliant female talent who are already making waves in the creative sector across so many disciplines but also to making an important positive step towards addressing the ongoing gender imbalance in the screen industry.”
Applications for X-Pollinator are currently open with the deadline of 5pm on Monday 7th October. Please visit this page to apply.
For further information on the event, visit http://www.x-pollinator.com.
Participating in X-Pollinator is free of charge. Organisers aim to accommodate as many applications as possible with a maximum capacity of 150.