A2 Interview w/ Lucy Paplinksa

During my interview with editor and director Lucy Paplinska, we discussed some topics based on her personal experiences that I have found resonate with some of the readings explored in the course over the past few weeks. I was interested to hear what her personal interests were in approaching documentaries. Lucy confirmed that she was primarily interested in talking to people and hearing their stories. I focused on her two films Alone in a Crowded Room (2008) and Sperm Donors Anonymous (2015), because I found that they encompassed that sense of unique Australian stories that are not necessarily widely understood. Additionally, and as stated in the interview too, the psychological landscape of the two films was particularly intriguing.

As French states, women documentary filmmakers have an ‘inclination to uncover social problems’ (French, 2019). This is something that has been observed as more prolific in women’s documentary work as opposed to men’s. Lucy stated that she enjoyed the sense of  ‘making something that will contribute to the wider good even if it is in a small way’. In the reading, it is elaborated that women may have this tendency due to their ‘“sameness” of their oppression’ (French, 2019) specifically to do with a woman’s experience. Further, this differs with each woman’s experience worldwide, with ‘specific oppressions in their individual lives.’ (French, 2019). 

Lucy’s work, particularly in the aforementioned films, does not focus primarily on women’s struggles specifically. They do however, particularly in Alone in a Crowded Room, focus on the disadvantage one experiences in life due to who they are. I believe that Lucy’s attraction to this sort of storytelling, particularly afforded with documentary, has in part to do with her experiences as a woman. 

I asked Lucy about her experiences as a woman in the industry, and what discrimination she may have faced. She expressed that the biggest disadvantage throughout her career is the lack of support as a mother, particularly when she had young children. She stated that ‘I did have to make it sound like it was never going to be a problem’ and this is fairly universal for all women with children. For these reasons, in the industry it is ‘difficult to have a family life’ and this is the reason a lot of people leave, too. She said that even the most supporting fathers do not face the discrimination that women do and therefore cannot understand it. 

This information is briefly explored in Screen Australia’s Gender Matters report, stating ‘those with childcare responsibilities (often women) … can be regarded as less flexible than those without… (often men),’ (Screen Australia, 2015). Primarily, the focus in the report on mothers in the industry experience ‘barrier[s] to career progression’ (Screen Australia, 2015). Ultimately the report did not delve into this aspect of the industry in any more detail. From our interview, this is clearly something that needs more of a spotlight, as the landscape has not particularly changed. As Lucy stated, the film industry is reminiscent of ‘the dark ages’ when it comes to women with children.

Further she stated she did not feel as much pressure in the documentary field, as a woman specifically, nor had she faced any direct discrimination. French’s Does Gender Matter? states that ‘in documentary the participation rate [of women] is much better (33-40 percent)’ (French, 2015). Particularly too, Melbourne is a smaller place where people are well-connected, so both of these factors may be why documentary has been a more pleasant environment to work in. She did say though that the discrimination against women moreso has to do with the wider systems in the industry, such as on a government level, but things are getting better slowly. Today, there are ‘precedents for targeted Government support for gender’ (Screen Australia, 2015) but much more can still be done in order to achieve better participation of women in the industry.

 

References:

French, L 2015,  ‘Does Gender Matter?’ Lumina: Australian Journal of Screen Arts and Business, No. 14

French, L 2019,  Women Documentary Filmmakers as Transnational “Advocate Change Agents” Interdisciplina Journal, Vol. 7, No. 17

Screen Australia 2015, Gender Matters: Women in the Australian Screen Industry, Australia