Today, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released the next episode in its “Academy Dialogues: It Starts with Us” conversation series titled “Reaching Gender Equity in Hollywood,” available now on YouTube. Anita Hill, chair of the Hollywood Commission on Eliminating Sexual Harassment and Advancing Equality and professor at Brandeis University, Heller School for Social Policy and Management, moderates this conversation with Oscar®-winning actor Geena Davis (A League of Their Own), award-winning filmmaker Alma Har’el (Honey Boy), Academy governor and composer Laura Karpman (Lovecraft Country), and EVP Creative for Sony Pictures Animation and Oscar-winning producer Karen Rupert Toliver (Hair Love) about their personal journeys to becoming agents of change.
In their discussion, they explore how women of all ages see themselves depicted in the far-reaching world of movies, and how to bring more role models on screen and behind the camera. Would increasing the number of females in decision-making positions usher in a work culture that allows full expression of women’s abilities, leadership skills, intellect and strength? This Academy Dialogue dives into what true equity and inclusion means, how it will inevitably lead to a safer work environment and how to normalize and amplify female leadership and empowerment.
The “Academy Dialogues” series concludes this month with the following conversations:
Academy Dialogues: “Owning Your Brand”
Academy governor and producer DeVon Franklin (Breakthrough), Franklin Leonard, founder and CEO of the Black List, producer Debra Martin Chase (Harriet), and M88 president, managing partner and co-founder Phillip Sun discuss their professional journeys and finding success outside of the traditional Hollywood system. What is the importance of having a vision, investing in yourself, and building a business brand by taking control to tell new and authentic stories? Available on YouTube on October 14.
Academy Dialogues: “Broadening the Aperture of Excellence”
Does Hollywood have a comfort zone when it comes to culture? This discussion, featuring Oscar-nominated filmmaker, founder of ARRAY and Academy governor Ava DuVernay (Selma) and filmmakers Julie Dash (Daughters of the Dust) and Euzhan Palcy (Sugar Cane Alley), will examine whether there is an objective form of measurement in the arts and how the Hollywood system can broaden its aperture to appreciate storytelling from the worldviews of different ethnic and racial communities. Available on YouTube on October 21.
Part of the organization’s Academy Aperture 2025 equity and inclusion initiative, “Academy Dialogues: It Starts with Us” is a series of virtual panels, with conversations about race, ethnicity, gender, history, opportunity and the art of filmmaking. For more information on “Academy Dialogues,” visit www.oscars.org/events.