"The international conference “Breaking the Frame – Balkan Women Reimagine Cinema” has gathered in the capital important representatives of the audiovisual industry from the region and Europe, in an effort to discuss the real challenges of women in this sector and to link the debate with the reforms being prepared for Albanian cinema. The event is organized by Albanian Women in Audiovisual with the support of the French Embassy in Albania and in partnership with KUB Tirana, aiming to turn the issue of gender equality from a theoretical discussion into concrete development policies.
French Ambassador Catherine Suard emphasized that gender equality It should not be seen as a quota, but as a quality standard for the creative industry. "We are placing special emphasis on meritocracy, so that women are not just a number, but that the strength of their creativity determines the success of the cinematography sector. Women don't have to look for a seat at the movie theater table, because they built their own table.", that Suard.
Along the same lines, the director of the National Center of Cinematography, Jonid Jorgji, spoke pëthe challenges of women artists inëfushëin cinematographyë, also linking the discussion to with the legal reforms being drafted for the sector.
"Institutional frameworks must be broken to build a future for half of society, which in our region still faces a narrow ceiling of 15%. Imagination alone is not enough; we must reimagine a world that naunites. How can the better half of humanity find the place it deserves in cinema?", said George. The world needs women's art and women's artistic perspective in cinema. We need to make them feel more confident about being part of the industry. We are seeing a lower participation of women in the arts, and now is the time to invest more in this direction. More than 60% of the government is made up of women, but we still don't have many of them in cinema. We are at a crucial moment, and the most important factor is the number of women who have studied in audiovisual fields. We are investing in an educational scholarship program for women and men, with a strong focus on supporting women. We fund scholarships for women to study around the world", said George.
Agnes Toulliex, nga CNC France, spoke për challenges also inë Francëwhere he emphasized that the positionsçand institutional areë traditionally held by men. "CNC is part of the Ministry of Culture, but we go much further than the rest of the ministry. If you have a strong will, you can achieve more than the government alone can. France is a very patriarchal country and all the key positions have traditionally been held by men. In France, you often have to take a position that was previously held by a man. We need to work to ensure that women are properly represented in the audiovisual sector, and the government also has a role to play in this regard.", he said Toulliex.
Sabina Kodra, Executive Director of Albanian Women in Audiovisual spoke për the problems of the fieldës, the challenges withë which onesëin womenë në këtë fushë and Pëorganized effortsës sëleads përtë created byë noiseë hapësirë pëwomenë.
"Many international awards are being won by female professionals in the audiovisual sector. We have the same problem — the lack of female producers — but we are trying to encourage more participation. We have young professionals, very persistent in the positive sense of the word, and they show up at every call. We are trying to support them.", said Kodra.
Peter D. Todorov, Executive Director of the Bulgarian National Film Center, spoke pëstatistics and related issuesëwhich onesëwomen face each otherë në këtë fushë. "In finance we don't have the same discussion — you don't need to encourage women to participate. At the cinema, yes. Statistics show that for every female director, there are three male directors. The mentality in cinema is still that it is a man's world.", he said Todorov.
Në të njëjtëonlineë, Dr Elena Christodoulidou, Chairwoman of the Cinema Advisory Committee – Cyprus Cinema Office, spoke pëI canësitë e incentives for reducing registration fees for production companies in response to the increase in the number of women in this field.
"We are looking at some good examples from European countries. sa It concerns incentives for women in the audiovisual sector. We are working to provide incentives: for example, reducing registration fees for production companies, and we are also considering the salaries of every woman involved in a film. We aim to support higher wages and better conditions for women in industry", he said Christodoulidou.
Lira Pipes, Deputy Minister of Tourism and Cultureës and Sportit spoke për reforms që Januaryë designed inë fushëin art and cinematographyënë veçanti, emphasizing the policies thatë encourageëthe inclusion of women inë këtë fushë. "As a minister, we are pursuing several reforms related to the Cinema Law, which needs further development and improvement. We are working with strong commitment to advance this sector and to design policies that encourage the inclusion of women as filmmakers.
We are also considering what we can do as a sector to further strengthen the role of women in this field. Gender equality is part of our feminist diplomacy and we have taken concrete measures to ensure that it does not remain just a distant prospect. I am very proud that in France we have integrated this approach into our policies and have established fair incentives for those who respect these standards.", said Pipa.
The audiovisual industry in Europe is one of the fastest growing cultural sectors, with thousands of jobs and cross-border investments, but gender inequalities remain pronounced: in many countries, financially supported films directed by women still hover around 20–30 percent, while at decision-making levels this percentage drops significantly.
In this context, "Breaking the Frame" aims to serve as a concrete platform for action, demanding that legal reforms, economic investment, and gender equality go hand in hand.Albania, with a new generation ri filmmakers and with growing potential for international co-productions, is faced with a strategic opportunity: to build a film industry competitive not only through funding and infrastructure, but also through the full inclusion of creative talents, without gender discrimination.
