Wikimedia CH/Grant apply/MAKE THEM VISIBLE!

Infodata

• Name of the project: MAKE THEM VISIBLE!
• Amount requested: 3.360 CHF
• Type of grantee: ASSOCIATION LORELEY FILMS BASEL
• Name of the contact: Bluecine (talk)
• Contact: charlotte.ducosgmail.com

In case of questions, please write to grantwikimedia.ch

The problem and the context

LORELEY FILMS is a newly created non-profit organization based in Basel, Switzerland. Our mission is to organize film screenings and activities to highlight documentary cinema by women directors of the 20th and 21st centuries. Their contribution has been overlooked for a long time.
Like their male counterparts, women have always directed and produced outstanding films and we believe that a new reading of our cinematographic past is key to understand that we are currently neglecting a very important contribution.
ANOTHER STORY is an overall project of LORELEY FILMS which specifically aims at highlighting female contributions to the history of documentary films in Europe.

What is the problem you're trying to solve?

ANOTHER STORY wants to recall the active presence of women creative filmmakers throughout the 20th and 21st centuries by writing full articles on their achievements in addition to highlighting the role they have played in the history of documentary cinema. We hope this will both create attention and generate a constructive conversation on the topic among cinemagoers and the wider audience.

Project goals

On Feb 17, 2025 in the Berlin gallery "no gallery" located in Ludwigstrasse 10 near the Kudamm, we are planning to organize an introductory session on European women filmmakers in documentary cinema.
We will gather a group of film professionals, including a representative of WomenEdit (affiliated to Wikipedia Germany) and two speakers from the archive and programming fields. The topic we wish to address is the (lack of) presence of female documentary filmmakers on Wikipedia: with an ironic touch - the event will be titled “MAKE THEM VISIBLE!” - we would like to point out that a collective effort should be made to find, research, and highlight female filmmakers, as well as write about them, in order to shift the current imbalance. In fact, there are currently only 38 female film auteurs on the Wikipedia dynamic list of 454 Film Auteurs and there has only been a 1,9% increase over the last 4 years (6,5% in 2020 versus 8,4% in January 2024).
So far, the two experts who have confirmed their presence are Gerdien Smit from the Eye Filmmuseum (Amsterdam) and Borjana Gakovic, a film curator at the Zeughauskino of the Deutsches Historisches Museum Berlin. Also, though not yet confirmed, a representative of the collective of women-only filmmakers Feminist Frames, will join us to explore feminist perspectives in their practice.
All the speakers have insights and knowledge of women pursuing leading actions within the cinematographic industry, often choosing unconventional paths which have nonetheless proved to be effective in a conservative society.
Another aspect we will be focusing on during the event, is the presence of European female cinema critics who are sometimes unknown even by professionals of the industry, often unaware of their existence. To this end, we would like to ask all participants to name the first female film critic of their country who comes to mind. Most probably, the answer will require some research, which will point out the need to both raise awareness on this subject and include more names in the existing list of Women Film Critics.
Participants will come from various European countries (Bulgaria, Poland, Italy, Germany, Belgium, France, Switzerland) and will be in Berlin for the Berlinale and the European Film Market. They will all have deep knowledge of their own national cinematographic industry, and we would like to tap into it to update the existing list of female film critics on Wikipedia.
We would like to position the project as a multilingual framework with contributions in German, English, Italian and French.

Project impact

How will you know if you have met your goals?

We target a participation of 30-40 people at this event in Berlin. We plan to follow up with the participants after the event and motivate them to be active on Wikipedia and spread the word towards their collaborators and main audiences (for festivals). We will consider a success with an active participation of 20 participants at the Berlin event that we will invite to contribution sessions following the event.

Do you have any goals or metrics around participation or content?

Our goal is to establish a work list of European female film critics, publish it and write 5 articles by the end of 2025. We also want to gather serious sources to write articles on the Collective Cinemien (Amsterdam in the 1970's and 1980's) and the curated program "Aufbrauch der Autorinnen" (2015) about European fiction filmmakers in the 1960's.

Project plan

Activities

In November of last year, we carried out our first event in collaboration with the association les sans pagEs during the 20th Festival Augenblick in Strasbourg, France (November 20-21, 2024). We organized a screening of TECHQUA IKACHI by Anka Schmid featuring a restored version that first premiered at the Berlinale in 2024. The event in Berlin will be the second one and we plan to continue with events in Basel (June 2025), Berlin (June 2025), Warsaw (September 2025), Bordeaux (October 2025) as well as in Amsterdam and Florence (both in November 2025). Those events will reach out to various audience segments: students, seniors, cinephiles, cinemagoers, audience interested in social change and film professionals.
The format is to involve experienced Wikipedia partners who will introduce participants to the usage of Wikipedia as well as some key data, and gather a list of volunteers interested in our topics during our events throughout 2025. Our hope is that such partners will bring our discussions within their own circles, thus creating a a multiplicator effect. After our first events, we hope to be able to count on some motivated participants who will update articles after each event. This is our way to contribute to the openness of Wikipedia and act as a bridge between communities: the various cinema audiences on the one side, and professionals engaged in a broader reflection on their own industry on the other.
Here is the project page (in French): https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Projet:Les_sans_pagEs/Another_Story

Schedule of the event "MAKE THEM VISIBLE ! European women directors in documentary cinema of the 20th century":
Monday, February 17th, 2025 from 10 am to 12 pm
10h Welcoming participants
10h05 Intro by Grizma from WomenEdit Berlin (Wikipedia Deutschland)
10h20 Gerdien Smit, a researcher at The Eye Filmmuseum sharing her knowledge on Cinemien
10h35 Borjana Gakovic, a film curator at the Zeughauskino in the Deutsches Historisches Museum Berlin and - to be confirmed - a representative of the Feminist Frames sharing her experience on a collective actions (TBC)
10h50 Closing note, Charlotte Ducos Loreley Films Till 12pm Networking and informal discussion

Two contribution sessions are planned:
One session with Loreley Films (Bluecine (talk), Totoro0309 and Cynorrhodondevigne) just after the event on February 19th, 2025 (online);
One session with les sans pagEs at the Photo Elysée Lausanne on 27.04 or 25.05.2025 which will be both on site and online enabling participation from the german, french and english community.

We also plan to take pictures during the event and to upload them on Wikimedia commons to help illustrate articles.

Budget

Guest Travel Costs and Speaker fees with 3 speakers: 990 CHF (300 CHF / speaker and 3 x 30 CHF for 3 meals)
Graphic Design: 720 CHF
Coordination: 1.650 CHF (Coordination fee 300 CHF / Moderation fee 300 CHF / 2 AR flights Geneva-Berlin and Zurich-Berlin 500 CHF / 2 nights 400 CHF / 6 meals 150 CHF)
TOTAL: 3.360 CHF

Note on the budget: The budget is dedicated to support travel, accommodation and meal costs as well as fee for the moderation and coordination of 1 WomenEdit speaker, 2 experts, 1 moderator and 2 coordinators to come to Berlin and prepare the event. 3 persons will already be in Berlin for other professional commitments, hence reducing the budget.
A follow-up on the content will be delivered to close the project, including a report (items to list for missing articles to be written), pictures and list of participants and volunteers who want to pursue the project. The graphic designer is needed for drafting the invitation and creating key visuals to establish a clear visual identity of the event. The location is welcoming the event without additional costs. The festival Dokumentale Berlin - The Good Media is also our partner for hosting the event, as they will provide snacks and coffee.

Community engagement

Our community engagement’s goal is to raise awareness among the audience and cinema professionals about women directors’ achievements in the European landscape. We want to offer them the opportunity to get involved in the writing of articles and make women directors' presence more visible on wikipedia and in professional events such as markets and festivals. Our guest speakers will contribute with sharing a list of 10 to 15 reliable sources that we will be using for article contribution on European filmmakers they introduced us to.

Answer from Wikimedia CH

Thank you for the request, which we can essentially approve after some adaptations have been made regarding travel arrangements. Although the event takes place in Berlin, and we generally try to support people and projects in Switzerland or with a strong connection to Switzerland, we do not see a hindrance, because we acknowledge the relevance of the subject for Swiss contributors, amongst others. The applicant has been informed by email about the decision. Please contact the Community Team soon to coordinate the payments and the communication around the events, as we would like to promote the format through our channels. Dorine Barth (WMCH) (talk) 12:19, 27 January 2025 (UTC)

Thank you for your support! Bluecine (talk) 15:35, 28 January 2025 (UTC)

Dear @Dorine Barth (WMCH), how to contact the Community Team? Bluecine (talk) 15:41, 28 January 2025 (UTC)

Dear @Bluecine (talk) Thank you for your reply. We are glad to see the project come together. Please contact us at info@wikimedia.ch. Thanks in advance! Dorine Barth (WMCH) (talk) 13:50, 29 January 2025 (UTC)

Thank you and talk soon! Bluecine (talk) 15:49, 29 January 2025 (UTC)