Abstract
The absence of equal opportunities on the basis of sex, age and nationality in the cultural and media industries acts as a hindrance to the creation of social and cultural value and has a negative impact on several well-being dimensions: work and career opportunities; work-life balance; training and development of talent; quality of interpersonal and social relations; but also on individual, subjective wellbeing, with possible consequences on individuals’ health. The premise of the E|Quality project is that a sustainable transformation of the industry is not possible unless strategies for change ensure the meaningful inclusion of marginalized groups, that is, one that assures both the increased presence of film professionals from historically excluded groups (HEGs), as well as the quality of their work conditions and personal development. This project aims to increase our understanding and knowledge of the mechanisms of exclusion that still operate in contemporary Italian film and TV series productions and to produce positive impacts on their capacity to adopt Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) parameters on three levels: offscreen, onscreen, and in-front-of the screen. This will be accomplished by creating a set of standards, guidelines, and assessment and self-assessment tools usable by different actors – such as production companies, film commissions, and policy-makers – to evaluate their ability to incorporate and actualize DEI parameters. The E|Quality project will focus on women, and especially women belonging to historically excluded groups (HEGs), in contemporary Italian film and tv series. The project adopts an intersectional approach, which understands interlocking power structures as having uneven effects on different identity categories. At the same time, we see this project as interpellated by what Lorber calls the new gender paradox: in order to eliminate gender inequality, we need to both dismantle the gender binary but also to insist on it when it is strategically functional in demonstrating inequalities. The project will develop along five milestones: 1) Evaluation and analysis of offscreen diversity and inclusion in contemporary Italian film and series production, with attention to the presence of women and especially women belonging to Historically Excluded Groups (HEGs), such as women without Italian nationality; 2) Evaluation and analysis of Italian cinema and TV’s capacity to promote the work and careers of women and especially women belonging to HEGs; 3) Mapping of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies and programs in Italian cinema and TV production cultures and practices; 4) Evaluation and analysis of onscreen diversity of Italian contemporary audiovisual works and their psychosocial impacts on audiences from HEGs; 5) Development of toolset for the improvement and strengthening of the culture of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Italian cinema and TV, also through the use of the digital leverage.
Dettagli del progetto
Responsabile scientifico: Guglielmo Pescatore
Strutture Unibo coinvolte:
Dipartimento delle Arti
Coordinatore:
Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore(Italy)
Contributo totale Unibo: Euro (EUR) 114.830,00
Durata del progetto in mesi: 24
Data di inizio
30/11/2023
Data di fine:
29/11/2025
