Participation, Impact and Representation of Women in Film Animation

Abstract

The presence of women in animation films implicates three related issues. First, the artistic one, which shows a group of influential female authors within animation, from pioneers to the most relevant modern artists. Though the first decades of the 20th century cast important names such as Lotte Reiniger or Faith Hubley, the presence of women in this artistic environment was a minority circumstance, made worse by the difficulties for financing and market competition. Secondly, and besides of this minority presence, it is most interesting the success and repercussion gained by their works through festivals, prizes and publications. Between the most respected authors nowadays we can mention Joanna Quinn, Joan Gratz, Erika Russell or Caroline Leaf, all of them artists who use commercial work to help them to continue with their more artistic pieces. In spite of all the efforts to keep their presence within animation film, we can point here the main difference with the presence of male authors in this industry. Being the cause the financing chances or the posibility of a shorter process, women take part more easily in short animation films than in full-length films. Lastly, our third approach deals with the election of gender issues for their film plots. Faith Hubley's W.O.W. (Women of the World), Petra Freeman's Jumping Joan or Regina Pessoa's Tragic Story with Happy Ending chose this commitment. The whole perspective is often joined to an institutional effort, as is the case of Women in Animation, a professional organization promoting women's roles in animation and individual expression.