The British Film Institute has come under attack for its decision to appoint the trans model and activist Munroe Bergdorf (who identifies as a woman) as the keynote speaker of its Woman with a Movie Camera summit, which is due to take place on 16 June.
An open letter posted on the website ipetitions says Bergdorf’s role is “an an insult to all the women film-makers who struggle on a daily basis to get their films made”. Referring to Bergdorf throughout as male, the letter says: “We question the suitability of a male who has benefitted from the very structures we are critiquing as a speaker on the subject of women’s agency in relation to film-making … What kind of cultural work is being performed when a male is speaking on behalf of women film-makers?”
“This speaker is upstaging the very urgency of women’s voices with another ‘what about men?’ narrative. As much as we support the rights of gender non-conforming males to be heard, this is not the forum for it.”
The letter is authored by the film-maker and writer Julian Vigo and the film-maker Deirdre O’Neill. In a further statement to the Guardian, Vigo said: “The BFI conference allocated a space that should have been taken up by a woman film-maker to a man and so it seems our voices continue to be denied.”
The summit is described by the BFI as “a day of talks and events on women, power and film”. It includes events such as Before and After Time’s Up and RIP #strongfemalecharacter.
In a statement, the BFI said: “For our keynote speaker we expressly wanted a voice outside of film-making that could widen the lens. We invited Munroe because she represents a contemporary and interesting perspective on the subjects of the day.
“We appreciate that Munroe’s involvement has provoked a strong and mixed reaction and we hope it will help further the gender debate in a positive and constructive way and encourage audiences to recognise and acknowledge the quality and value of difference, which we believe is a benefit to our industry and to our wider society.”
Bergdorf was fired by L’Oréal in 2017 after posting racially charged comments on Facebook, and was subsequently appointed to Labour’s advisory board on LGBT rights. She quit that role in March after attacks in the tabloid press and by Conservatives.
Bergdorf’s lack of experience as a film-maker has also come in for criticism: though she was involved in making Channel 4’s recent documentary What Makes a Woman, Bergdorf has no directing or producer credits.