Afghan and Serbian Directors Call Out Funding Gaps at Tokyo Film Festival Talk

Opening remarks on gender disparity

During a Tokyo Talk session at the Tokyo International Film Festival, Afghan director Shahrbanoo Sadat said that a lack of funding and “ignorance in the institutions that control it” keeps women at an inherent disadvantage in the film industry. She emphasized that “the discrimination did not start at the festival, but it started at the development level,” referring to the low ratio of women‑directed films selected for competition.

Panel participants and context

The discussion, moderated by film scholar Takasaki Ikuko, also featured Serbian director Jelena Maksimović, whose film “Until the Day Ends” screened in Venice’s Orizzonti section. Sadat, now based in Germany, noted that her latest feature “No Good Men” opened the 76th Berlinale before screening in Tokyo. The session followed other women‑focused events at the festival, including a Women’s Empowerment segment and an animation symposium on female anime directors.

Financial hurdles for women filmmakers

Both directors said that obtaining the means to make a film often requires a degree of conformity. Maksimović recalled that even in the former Yugoslavia “there were a lot more male directors,” but noted changes in the Balkans after the Yugoslav Wars.

She explained that Film Center Serbia “worked decently” for a few years until the outgoing government cut its funding entirely in retaliation for filmmakers’ frequent support of student anti‑corruption protests. The protests grew from demonstrations over the 2024 collapse of a train station canopy in Novi Sad and later led to a snap parliamentary election on Oct. 25, after which the student movement won.

“Luckily, a few days ago the students won. We’re very happy at the moment, but there’s a huge fight in front of us,” Maksimović said, adding that the damage done by the previous regime would take time to repair.

She also said that even when the film center operated normally, financing Serbian films remained difficult because “the amount of money for Serbian films is very small and it’s hard to find co‑production countries.” She suggested that male filmmakers in Serbia have historically enjoyed privileges that women did not.

Barriers beyond money

Sadat described a “cultural mafia, a bunch of old men” in Afghanistan that blocks women from accessing the same privileges as men. She said gaining even a slight chance at those privileges “takes capitulation, submission and compromise.”

Looking ahead

Maksimović noted a sense of solidarity among filmmakers creating less mainstream features, but described it as a “certain kind of bubble” separate from “big funding.” She said, “We didn’t dare to apply to the big funding to get more money for our films because we knew we wouldn’t get the money there.” She expressed hope that the recent student victory could allow the system to be overhauled.

The talk underscored that financial structures, historical practices, and political shifts all intersect to shape the opportunities available to women directors today.