Female makers are ready to tackle sexual violence and abuse in their shows. But they don’t always want to show it.
This was one of the most important pick -up restaurants of the market panel of Berlinal Series on Monday that the story owns – deconstrating stereotypes in TV series, moderated by Variety.
“There are many things that people can activate and train again, so we did our best not to do that. With director Elsa van Damke and her co-writer Jana Invelk, we decided not to show the actual rape, “said” Angemessen angry “producer Solmaz Azizi.
Azizi produced the Germany series with Marie Bloching, in which a young woman develops super powers after an attack.
“I have seen many images of naked body parts that I can’t get out of my head. It can be pleasant – I don’t mind seeing Idris Elba walking out of a shower – but it can be something that I am not willing to see. Nevertheless a male moderator that we have had [while promoting the show] Implicated that the rape may not have happened because we never showed it. It has never even happened to us to think that way. ”
The ‘querer’ of Spain, about a woman who accused her husband of 30 years of repeated rape, also opted for a ‘delicate’ approach.
“You can’t see violence. You feel it, but the viewer doesn’t really know what really happened, “said Fabrizia Palazzo, distribution manager at Movistar+, during the panel.
Although it should not be exploited, sometimes violent scenes are needed to understand the situation of the character, Doris Tääker, director of Estland-Ukrainian ‘my dear mother’, argued about a drug addict and prostitute accused of the murder of her mother.
“I wanted to show how sexual violence lets someone lose their self -respect and self -esteem,” she said. Tääker decided to stick to the victim’s perspective while photographing the scenes.
“We had many conversations with the producers about how we prevent the public from stopping watching the show. One of the methods comes from Danish scenario writing: you get in the scene late and leave as quickly as possible. The other is music. His presence tells you that it is not a real life. ”
Unable to collaborate with intimacy coordinators – “At that time we had no in Estonia” – she worked closely with her main actress, production manager and stunt coordinator. “He would always say,” It’s a choreography, it’s a game. ” He created a very safe space.
Although she focuses more on spiritual abuse than on physical violence, Marika Makaroff-Finse Emmy-nominated maker worked behind “L/Over”-also with intimacy coordinator Ita O’Brien. “After the scenes we would talk to Cast members and the team, just to get them out of our system.”
It matters to tell stories about abuse, whereby female makers often use their own experiences. Or the experiences of other women they know.
“I am sure there are great male directors who would do an excellent job in a project like this, but I believe it makes a big, big difference. In our creative development team, the only man was our great commissioning editor at RTL, Thomas Disch. It’s a spoiler, but we asked him if we could cut a penis [in a scene]And he said yes. Imagine how many men will be offended by that, “said Azizi.
“During development we also spoke a lot about our own experiences, and so many things just came up. There is no woman who has not experienced sexual violence in one way or another. It always happens. Being a woman is really difficult. “
Tääker noted: ‘For’ my dear mother ‘it was important that the director is a woman because it is talking about the mother-daughter relationship. I created a strong bond with the main actress and on difficult shooting days her husband would say: “Fortunately Doris is also a girl.”
Stories with sexual violence must come up with trigger warnings.
“The public must know what is waiting for them. With ‘baby reindeer’, I was stunned by how much they showed us, “Tääker said, with Azizi agreed:” I thought I was looking a show about a stalker and then it turned into something I didn’t prepare for. I don’t think it’s a spoiler if you have a substantive note. It just helps to know what you commit to look at. “
Apart from adding information about places and hotlines that offer help, as was done in “L/Over”, which offers a guide for the legal process for survivors of sexual violence, is also in the heads of the makers.
“These legal proceedings last year. Victims start the entire process as one person and end it as another. The size of a TV series gives you time to show this, “said Palazzo.
Showing victims in a complex, unusual way is a different purpose.
“As soon as something like this happens, you are ashamed. But miren [played by Nagore Aranburu] Finds her freedom and she takes her life back, “Palazzo noticed. Just like Amelie does angry in ‘Angemessen’.
“Elsa van Damke speaks very openly about the fact that she is a survivor of sexual violence and has gone much of her own experience in making the character and the story. I think many broadcasters were afraid of this combination of sexual violence and humor, but that makes it so special. So many terrible things happen in the world. If you have a moment in between when you can laugh, it helps you to get through. “