Women's world behind the camera

Eric Patrick 


Oscars season is all about the stars: who said what, which gowns rocked the red carpet, and of course, who won.

But for women behind the camera, it takes a lot more to get
noticed.

Female nominations for technical work are rare - blink and 
you can miss them. From the outside, it looks like a man's world - but is that how it feels?

Three women - two of them 2016 Oscar winners - tell us 
what it's really like.

"I loved film growing up - I watched a lot of horror and I
 loved prosthetics, so my natural thought was to get into
 that," says Sara Bennett, who won an Oscar for her work on 2015 sci-fi drama Ex Machina.

Few female Oscar winners

The film brought to life the female robot Ava, played by 
Alicia Vikander, whose body had humanoid features but 
with a transparent skull, limbs and torso.

As the first female VFX supervisor to win an Oscar, Sara 
broke new ground at 2016's ceremony.

It was only the third time in 89 years that a woman had 
been nominated for visual effects.

The last winner? Suzanne Benson for Aliens - back in 
1987. Despite being such rarity, Sara says she's never felt outnumbered.

"Until last year's Oscar nomination, I'd never really thought about it being male-dominated," she says.

"The hard time for me was learning the craft and moving 
up, as opposed to dealing with men in my industry."

She grins, adding: "Being a woman probably went in my favour, to be honest."


Sara, whose back catalogue includes Sherlock, The 
Martian and the first four Harry Potter films, says she loves the variety her work gives her.

Her passion for her work is infectious, and she says it was
"amazing" winning the Oscar - she couldn't quite believe it when her name was read out.

But she also mixes it up by managing a team, mentoring young women and leading children's workshops.

Having trained in prosthetics and make-up, she became a runner during the 1990s, working as a general assistant on film sets before switching to VFX.

As a compositor, she learned how to combine several 
visual elements into a believable on-screen image, gaining 
her first credit in 1998 for Babe, Pig in the City.

Although aspiring VFX specialists can now learn through YouTube tutorials, software and courses, Sara's adamant
 that the best experience is found in the workplace.

"Until you're working flat out and your eyes are bleeding at
 four in the morning, that horrible feeling - that's when you really learn about the job," she laughs, talking about the pressures of working to tight deadlines.

Three years ago she set up London and Cardiff-based 
visual effects company Milk with four male colleagues, 
after their section in another VFX studio, The Mill, was 
closed down.

Sara now sees more women moving through the ranks, 
and says with delight: "When I was younger it was about 
80/20 men to women in VFX, but now it's closer to 60/40."

But even if more women want creative positions in the 
film industry, they're not at the top table just yet.

Research from the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film says women made up just 17% of 
"behind-the-scenes employment" on the top 100, 250 and 
500 films of 2016.



Sara says it will take a while. "There's so many women 
doing VFX. Maybe they're not doing the big A-List films, 
but they're out there doing it all."

'Magic and fairy tales'

Fie Tholander, 31, has been inspired by Sara, working for 
her as a VFX compositor at Milk.

"I've always been drawn to magic, to fairy tale stories," 
she says, citing David Bowie fantasy drama Labyrinth 
(1986) as an inspiration.

She's single-mindedly pursued her career since she was 
15 and is now creating aliens for the upcoming Doctor
 Who series.

She also worked on the brains in jars with eyeballs which featured in last year's Christmas special.

As a Danish high school student, she already knew she wanted to work in VFX, studying art at Animation Workshop before heading for London, with an internship at The Mill.

It was there that she met Sara, who became her mentor.
Women 'hold back' at work "Having Sara as a role model makes women realise they can actually do it," she says.

"VFX is portrayed as a technical thing, which is isn't always 
the case. I'm not a technical person, I'm more creative."

Fie thinks women need to be more assertive: "I think 
women in general hold back, we're afraid to ask, and men
 are a bit more bold with their careers."

Has she ever hit a glass, even a celluloid, ceiling? Nope.
"Sexism isn't something I've come across. If I want something I have to ask for it - no one will give it to me."

But Fie does think the industry's progressing, with more women applying to work in her profession.