The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) has taken a forward-thinking step to identify women in film by allowing an ‘F’ rating to be added.
The criteria for an ‘F’ rating refers to movies written or directed by one or more females, or has complex female characters in leading roles. Those that include all three elements are given a triple F rating. The rating has currently been added to over 21,000 titles, including Frozen, Aliens and Kill Bill.
Over 40 cinemas and film festivals already feature the category, and now IMDB has decided to join in.
The F rating was created in 2014 by Bath Film Festival executive director Holly Tarquini. She found inspiration from Bechdel test – a system that rates movies based on whether two female characters talk to each other about any topic other than men. According to Tarquini, the aim was to “support women in film and change the stories we see on screen”.
“It’s great that you can now use IMDb to browse films directed and written by women,” Tarquini said, speaking to the Guardian.
“This is important because films by and featuring women often have significantly less spent on promotion, so they are more difficult for audiences to find,” she said. “As soon as organisations start F-rating their programmes, they screen more films directed by, written by and starring women.”
Despite the widespread acclaim and recognition of her rating, Tarquini says that there’s still a long way to go before cinema reaches female inclusivity.
“I hope that the F rating will become redundant as the stories we see on screen reflect our culture, and that 50 per cent of the stories we see will be told by and about women.”
