6 Ways F-Rating Feminist Films Sucks

by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent Remember when Jack Nicholson shows up in “The Witches of Eastwick” as Daryl Van Horne, but no one can say his name? Next Cher, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Susan Sarandon have to make a secret spell to banish him? This is the stuff of female-oriented films. The part where awesome women fanny-hammer some sexist monster; or the part where Dabney Coleman gets tied up in “9 to 5.” Those are classic movies, and today you could consider “Devil Wears Prada,” but you wouldn’t give them a scarlet “F” or anything, right? Meet Filmmaker Leslie Ann Coles from Toronto. Coles founded the Female Eye Film Festival (FeFF), and about a year ago she noticed her films on IMDB suddenly had a big “F” attached. This is not the official MPAA Rating System, as in PG to R; in fact this is some cockamamie categorization from the UK. (Only for women who are filmmakers, as in: there is no M for male moviemakers.) If your blood is not up now, friends, just watch those Daryl Van Horne seduction sequences. How the argument to efface ourselves is always made best by men, lol. “I like women. I admire them. But, if you want me to treat you like a dumb twit I will. What’s the point?” This quote is from Jack Nicholson’s character Van Horne, but if that sentence structure is hauntingly familiar… Ah, no digressions here. So now, let’s sit back and let the brilliant Leslie Ann Coles rip the stuffing out of this F-ing one, in a nice way. Her bio follows this interview, but trust me, you’ll already know who she is by how she takes down this alphabetic, cinematic affront to feminism. 1.) What the heck are F-rated films, and why did this designation came about? The “F-Rating” or “Rated-F” was initiated by FILMBATH (UK). Apparently is was established in 2014. It is well intended according to Holly Tarquini, Bath Film Festival executive director, who responded to my email query to say “F-Rating, one of the many ambitions I have of the rating is to amplify ALL of the remarkable work which feminists are doing around the world to help promote women in film.” I noted the f-rated.org.uk site is down but the allied site is up so for more info from the allies page at (http://f-rated.org/our-allies/ 2.) Where is the category most glaring, or how is it used in general? On the IMDB this special “classification” pertains to films that have female anything essentially (i.e. written, directed or starring women.) IMDB introduced the classification system to highlight films by, or featuring, women but I noted it also pertains to films with women working behind the camera and there’s a “triple F” rating for films that “feature complex female characters who contribute to the story” and with writer/ director of the same sex. F-Rating is applied to IMDB, Netflix and is being adopted by cinemas and film festivals. 3.) When did you first see the F attached to your projects? I first noted the “F” for “F-Rating” when applied to my IMDB page. At first, I thought my film had been rated “F” for family. Not so. 4.) How did the blowback start, and what other filmmakers are impacted? I have spoken to other filmmakers; and various heads of femme centric organizations that advocate for gender parity in our industry. Most of the women I’ve spoken to are in agreement that this rating ghettoizes us, divides us, and relegates our films to a classification system that says harkens back to the “women can vote” era. There’s a vast majority of women working in media who are unaware of this rating system. I’m astounded by the number of women who are not keen to this new category for films by or involving women. In North America, “F” does not have a positive association because in our institutions “F” usually means “fail.” We are clearly divided on this issue but it would appear younger, emerging female film makers are in favor of classifying work by women. They seem to feel we can find each other more readily. I argue that we already know how to find each other especially with the plethora of international film festivals that have sprung up across the globe in an effort to shine a light on films directed by women. Some interpret “F” as it stands for feminist.  So, feminism is associated with this new classification but how do we define feminism in this day and age? My biggest criticism of the “F-Rated” / “Rating-F” is that it’s not inclusive of gender non-conformists, gender binary, nor intersectional feminism. And my other concern is that we have not surpassed the time when films by women are no longer considered “chick flicks” simply by virtue of having been written and or directed by women. It should be noted that over 90% of films directed by women are written by the same. Will the “F-Rating” discourage viewers? I know with my own film, Melody Makers, folks automatically assume it’s a male directed documentary because it pertains to rock ‘n’ roll, music journalism and history. Will the general population gloss over it because it’s “F-Rated”? 5.) Can this informal rating system be scotched from the listings? This needs to be discussed and addressed more seriously, given the ramifications.  We are having informal conversations about it now and we listen to the varying points of view. Can it be scotched? I don’t know. It seems it slid in under the radar and was then quickly adopted by the powers that be. The Art of War is to divide and conquer and we are clearly divided on this new classification system as it pertains to women working in media. Do we classify films directed by men with “M”, or are films by racial minorities, “RM”? Is this backlash to the #metoo, #timesup, movement forward? 6.) Who do you protest to in a case like this, since the MPAA doesn’t formally recognize the F as a category? The MPAA is the best place to start especially if they don’t recognize it. I actually didn’t know that. We need to rally the MPAA, and our unions, DGC, DGA, WGC, WGA, SAG, ACTRA. We need to understand this and have a conversation involving all the stakeholders. With certainty, “F-Rated”, “Rating-F” with all it’s permissions will be a big topic of conversation at the 17th Female Eye Film Festival (FeFF) and most definitely as part of the annual FeFF Directors Brunch and Round Table Discussion. Director’s Bio Leslie Ann Coles is a filmmaker/ actor and the Founder & Executive Director of The Female Eye Film Festival (FeFF) established 2001. Following a successful run in international film festivals her multiple award-winning documentary “Melody Makers” releases July 2019 accompanied by the world-wide release of the companion interactive iBook “Melody Makers” on Apple Book. “Melody Makers” captures the birth of music journalism during the zeitgeist of rock ‘n’ roll featuring Barrie Wentzell, Chief Contributing Photographer, Melody Maker magazine (1965-1975). Coles has two scripted features films in development and she’s in pre production with “The Curtain”, an ACTRA TIP short. The Female Eye Film Festival (FeFF), an international competitive women directors film festival celebrates its 17th edition Nov. 7-10 2019 (Toronto, Canada). FeFF was voted “Top Fifty Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee” in 2019 by Movie Maker Magazine (L.A. CA). This marked FeFF’s 7th consecutive year for this recognition. Through FeFF’s community outreach she recently completed a Creative Engagement Project, “My Life, My Community, My Ontario” a short documentary to help stop violence against Indigenous women. Under the auspices of the Female Eye, Leslie Ann has executive produced and mentor-directed 46 at risk youth on their debut short films, 26 films were directed by Indigenous girls, all premiered at the FeFF. Leslie Ann is committed to producing films and cross platform projects that combine art, entertainment and social justice. Intimately familiar with the local and international film making community, her strength is her ability to creatively strategize projects and determine market potential during the development process, always with a critical understanding of a film’s milieu, be it social, cultural, or art-focused. PS, Let’s not forget Daryl Van Horne’s speech about… Women. http://www.FemaleEyeFilmFestival.com http://www.MelodyMakersMovie.com # # #