Animator Anna Mantzaris on the gender focus in her business
In Global Women New Zealand's campaign for this year's International Women's Day, the platform highlighted “maternity punishment” in a short animation directed by Passion Pictures director Anna Mantzaris with Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand. Building on the concept of the director's 2019 short film Enough, the film features humorous workplace sabotage to illustrate that a woman can do almost nothing in the workplace that limits her career other than having a baby.
On average, mothers earn 12.5% less than their peers and peers over the course of their careers, and the team behind the film wanted to convey that alarming status in a memorable way. "If having a baby is the most career-limiting thing a woman can do, then when she's not having a baby she can do all sorts of stupid things and still not be as bad off as a woman with a baby," she explains. “So we wanted to play with that concept and have this woman in the film do all these things that would normally limit her career, but she does them with a sense of playfulness without fear of the consequences. I feel like it gets to the point and takes it to the extreme, which makes the message even clearer. "
Ultimately, the short film reveals the absurdity of that feeling and uses humor to disarm the viewer. "If we were to just show that a woman is limited in her career by having a baby, I don't think it would have the same impact," adds Mantzaris. "That way, it arouses more interest and curiosity, which hopefully leads to a stronger impact in the message."
After working on brainstorming ideas and scripting with the Saatchi & Saatchi creatives, Mantzaris did all of the design and creation of the dolls at home in her Margate studio. With the help of a model maker, each doll was made seven times smaller than reality. “It took three weeks to shoot and then about three weeks for post production. So it was a pretty quick turnaround! I worked with my cameraman to set the lights and then I did part of the animation and on a couple of days two different animators were added. The animation of each scene took three to four days, ”explains the director.
Mantzaris says one of the reasons she got involved in the project is because the gender pay gap is an issue that is close to her heart. “It is motivating to work on a project that deals with justice, discrimination or related issues. It adds another layer to the creative process, ”she says. “Not only can you work on something creative that you love the process, but you can also work on something important that makes it really meaningful. As a woman, I also see a lot of hidden discrimination and obstacles that we face. I felt like I really knew what I was talking about when I made this movie, which in turn makes it really meaningful and rewarding to work on. "
Some of the discrimination Manztaris has seen in the animation and business sectors include the recurring theme that high-level or high-paying jobs are often held by men. "As directors, women often get projects with lower budgets, and projects with higher budgets are like the more invisible women," she says. "All of a sudden, it's like people don't trust women on big budget projects the same way."
While studying, there was a 50/50 division between men and women in the classroom during both their BA and MA, and at times the balance was more centered on women. "But when I work, most of the people I work with are men, and I just wonder what happens to all the women who go to college. It's not that they don't want to work," says Mantzaris. " I don't think there is a single reason, but rather many things together and often hidden obstacles that make it difficult for women to get into higher positions such as director or lead animator. "
Despite these hurdles, Mantzaris has the feeling that it will get better, also because these conversations are taking place openly. "It's definitely more acceptable to talk about things and question them these days than it was a few years ago when you were classified as plaintive or whiny," she says. “But there is still a long way to go. Just go to a production facility Company and see how many female and male directors there are. "
Like most problems and injustices, Mantzaris believes that the most dangerous thing is to believe that sexism is something other people need to do or what other people need to address. "There is the idea that only the overtly sexist and bad men are the problem. But I think most of the discrimination is unconscious and unintentional," she notes. just because we have no intention of doing bad ourselves. "We're all biased, me included. I think it all starts with us and we have to start this change by examining ourselves."
In addition to this urgently needed introspection, Mantzaris also sees action as a further necessity. Things like deliberately giving opportunities and better salaries to directors, cameramen, and animators. "We have to be active if we want things to change, not think that they will naturally balance each other out."
The Global Women film campaign launched earlier this week on International Women's Day, but the inequality that women and mothers face around the world occurs every day. Mantzaris believes that we shouldn't talk about these topics just one day a year. "I hope the film makes people think and understand that the 'maternity sentence' is a really big problem," she says. "I hope it brings more awareness, discussion and hopefully leads to an acceleration of the changes towards an equal working life!"
Credits:
Creative agency: Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand
Production company: Passion Pictures
Director: Anna Mantzaris
Producer: Becky Perryman
Executive producer: Belle Palmer
DOP: Donna Wade and Jon Muschamp
Animators: Anna Mantzaris, Mark Waring and Tim Allen
Post / VFX: Sara Salcedo
Sound: Craig Matuschka, Liquid Studios