Stats on the current film industry, our audience, and women-driven projects:

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• 34.5% of narrative features at Sundance over the past five years were made by women.

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• In 2019, 43 movies featured a female lead or co-lead. This is a 13-year high, yet this percentage is still below the female population per the U.S. Census (51%) and the percentage of tickets sold at the box office in North America to females (47%). The financial impact of films with female leads/co-leads is illustrated by the more than $4 billion in receipts collected by Disney for 4 female lead/co-lead films in 2019.

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• Research of the top 350 grossing films between 2014 and 2017, irrespective of budget, shows films where female stars had top billing made more money than those with male stars.

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• According to a study by Creative Arts Agency (CAA), at every budget level, films with female leads performed better in worldwide box office averages.

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• Of the top-grossing 100 films: 40% featured female protagonists, 43% featured male protagonists, and 17% had ensembles or a combination of male and female protagonists.

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• Of the indie films screening at U.S. festivals 2018-2019: the percentages of women working as directors, writers, producers, executive producers, and editors on independent films reached historic highs. Women comprised 33% of directors, 32% of writers, 37% of producers, 32% of executive producers, 29% of editors, and 16% of cinematographers.

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• Female storytellers bring a unique point of view to their stories. Melissa Silverstein from Women and Hollywood observes, “Women tell stories differently. We have different life experiences and those experiences inform our stories and the lens with which we view the world.”