ReFrame Stamp Awarded to 26 Films From 2019

ReFrame, the coalition of industry leaders and companies dedicated to gender parity in entertainment, has announced the 2019 film recipients of its ReFrame Stamp.

As with the two classes preceding it, projects that qualify must have hired female-identifying people in at least half of eight key roles — writer, director, producer, lead, co-lead, speaking parts, department heads and crew — with extra weight given to women of color in these positions.

ReFrame, which was founded by Sundance Institute and Women in Film, analyzes data from partner IMDbPro to identify recipients among the 100 highest-grossing movies in the U.S. It also will evaluate projects outside of this grouping that submit themselves for consideration.

Given the high-profile conversation around female directors during this past awards season, it should be no surprise that a record number of 2019’s top 100 films — 26 — have qualified for the ReFrame Stamp, up from 20 top-100 movies the year before.

“I see the ReFrame Stamp as an important lever for change to help women and people of color break through the boundaries and level the playing field,” Olivia Wilde, director of Stamp recipient Booksmart, said Wednesday in a statement. “Stamp criteria helped me focus on who would be best for the job — and I was able to hire an incredibly diverse and balanced crew to curate the environment I always wanted to see on a set.”

In 2019, there were 12 female helmers among the top 100 films, up from just four in 2018 (ReFrame notes that the other 16 Stamp recipients are evidence that it is possible for a film to be directed by a man but gender-balanced in other meaningful ways). But female screenwriters dipped to 19 in 2019 from 23 the year before. Also, women of color represent just four of 2019’s directors — Breakthrough‘s Roxann Dawson, Harriet‘s Kasi Lemmons, Little‘s Tina Gordon and Queen & Slim‘s Melina Matsoukas — and three of the group’s screenwriters — Lemmons, Queen & Slim‘s Lena Waithe and Gordon (who penned both Little and What Men Want).

Stamp recipients earn the right to display the mark in their end credits and marketing materials, including social media, and IMDb recognizes listmakers on a dedicated page on its website as well as the Awards section of each film.

“We launched the ReFrame Stamp with IMDbPro three years ago as a change lever to promote more inclusive hiring practices at all levels of production,” said ReFrame director Alison Emilio in a statement. “The call to action is simple: Use the ReFrame criteria, improve hiring outcomes, get the stamp.”

The 26 ReFrame Stamp recipients among the 100 highest-grossing movies in the U.S. are:

A Dog’s Way Home
Abominable
Alita: Battle Angel
Black and Blue
Booksmart
Breakthrough
Captain Marvel
Cats
Dora and the Lost City of Gold
Escape Room
Five Feet Apart
Frozen 2
Harriet
Hustlers
Isn’t It Romantic
Last Christmas
Little
Little Women
Long Shot
Ma
Queen & Slim
The Curse of La Llorona
The Hustle
UglyDolls
Us
What Men Want