The film industry is at a tipping point. Traditional studios are under threat of being shouldered out by their competitors. Sequels take precedence over original content, projects struggle without bankable stars.
Yet, it has never been a better time to work in cinema, especially if you belong to the underserved demographic.

Today's film industry

<ul>
<li>The Time’s Up movement is making strides to eliminate gender-based discrimination at every stage of the film-making process.</li>
<li>It has established a mentorship programme for aspiring producers from socio-economically disadvantaged households.</li>
<li>The 4 Percent Challenge, encourages industry figures to work with a female director every 18 months.</li>
<li>Grants have been made available to journalists covering film festivals.</li>
<li>Standards of behaviour on set are changing. There is a push for more female directors and equal pay to ensure sustainable cultural change.</li>
</ul>

A growing movement

Streaming services following in the footsteps of Netflix, have revolutionized the way we consume visual media.
<ul>
<li>Despite the boycotts by major cinema chains, they also succeeded in democratizing the movie business, because they can take more risks. They release more films and are free from box-office pressures.</li>
<li>Mid-budget movies is another welcome side-effect.</li>
</ul>

Disruption of the industry

Young, white, heterosexual men are not held up anymore as the ‘ideal’ consumers. 
Now, people of all backgrounds want to see themselves represented on the screen. Motion pictures have made a turn and and serve a bigger audience than ever before.

A wider audience

<div>
<iframe src="https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/images/why-they-should-see-us-1576670125.jpg?resize=480:*" frameborder="0" width="560" height="315"></iframe>Atsushi Nishijima/Netflix
Today's film industry is at a tipping point, poised on the brink of deep-rooted evolution. There are certainly challenges ahead: traditional studios are under constant threat of being swallowed up by their competitors; superhero franchises, remakes and sequels regularly take precedence over original content; and projects struggle to get greenlit unless bankable stars are attached. And yet, it has paradoxically never been a better time to work in cinema, particularly if you belong to a previously underserved demographic. 
The Time's Up movement - spearheaded two years ago by a collective of more than 300 women in entertainment - has begun making strides to eliminate gender-based discrimination at every stage of the film-making process. To increase the diversity of business meetings, and freshen up stagnant ideas, it has established a mentorship programme for aspiring producers from socio-economically disadvantaged households. During production, the 4 Percent Challenge, which encourages industry figures to work with a female director every 18 months, is improving representation on- and off-screen. And in an effort to widen the range of critical voices responding to new releases, grants have been made available to journalists covering film festivals. 
The CEO of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Dawn Hudson has already noticed the movement's impact in her workplace. "I see a big change in inclusion and respect in my daily professional life. Men are more likely to acknowledge women in meetings, and to wait for women to finish what they're saying instead of jumping in - they're simply more aware," she says. "Will this translate to more films being made by women and people of colour? It must. The importance of this can't be overstated. And I am optimistic." 
Dame Heather Rabbatts, the chair of the UK branch of Time's Up, is similarly heartened by the initiative's progress. "We're proud that the movement is growing," she says. "Standards of behaviour on set are shifting, and we've been pushing for more female directors and equal pay. Our focus is to ensure sustainable cultural change. Now you need to explain why you haven't achieved gender parity, whereas before you could barely get it on the agenda." One female director who has benefited from this more inclusive approach is Harry Wootliff, whose debut feature, 2019's heartfelt infertility drama , earnt her a British Independent Film Award last month. "Since I started out, the biggest positive change has been the awareness of the lack of female directors and the efforts to balance out that inequality," she says. 
Streaming services, following in the pace-setting footsteps of Netflix, have revolutionised the way we consume visual media, providing hours of entertainment to be enjoyed in our own homes at the click of a button. Their disruption of the industry - despite resulting in boycotts by major cinema chains - has also succeeded in democratising the movie business, because these online platforms are able to take more risks. They release considerably more films compared with studios (in 2019, Netflix's output nearly tripled that of its closest rival Warner Bros) and are free from box-office pressures. 
This has prompted the flourishing of diverse stories, by talented directors including Ava DuVernay ( 13th), Dee Rees ( Mudbound) and Tamara Jenkins (<a href="https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/culture/entertainment/a26386076/infertility-taboo-cinema/">Private Life</a>). Another welcome side-effect has been the resurgence of mid-budget movies, such as romcoms, that can struggle to entice audiences into multiplexes. Tricia Tuttle, the festival director of <a href="https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/culture/entertainment/g29088675/london-film-festival-movies/">BFI London Film Festival</a>, welcomes this breadth of perspectives behind the camera. "Cinema is such a wonderful means of understanding the world, of understanding people and lives that are different from our own," she says. "I hope commissioners, funders and investors continue to believe that audiences want these kinds of intelligent, diverse and transformative films." 
Gone are the days of holding up young, white, heterosexual men as the 'ideal' consumers. Now, moviegoers of all backgrounds want to see themselves represented on the silver screen, and are turning out in record numbers to marvel at cinematic worlds that mirror their own. It looks like the dazzling magic of motion pictures is shining more brightly, and more broadly, than ever before. 
Read our portfolio of essays on the future of fashion, art, tech and more in the February issue of Harper's Bazaar, on newsstands now. Like this article? Sign up to our new newsletter to get more articles like this delivered straight to your inbox. </div>

Atsushi Nishijima/Netflix Today's film industry is at a tipping point, poised on the brink of deep-rooted evolution. There are certainly challenges ahead: traditional studios are under constant threat of being swallowed up by their competitors; superhero franchises, remakes and sequels regularly take precedence over original content; and projects struggle to get greenlit unless bankable stars are attached.

What's in store for the future of film?

Today's film industry

A growing movement

Disruption of the industry

A wider audience

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