A big push for women in filmmaking began about 10 years ago, and Josephine Croft remembers a lot of talk that it was a great time for female-driven stories.
“There were a lot of industry initiatives for females,” she tells Women’s Agenda. “And I feel like we are finally starting to see some of the payoffs, but it’s a slow process.”
No stranger to bringing female stories to life through film, Croft is a tenacious actor, voice over artist and producer. In 2021, she completed study for Creative Producing, with Compton School and the University of Canberra.
Her next and biggest project yet is her debut feature film, called The Returned, which boasts an all-female production team. Working alongside Croft on the drama film are producers Ahalya Maharaj and Amanda LaBonté.
The film’s storyline follows three siblings whose mother is dying. It explores the complexities of mother-child relationships, sibling dynamics, the impact of birth order and it carries an authenticity that’s drawn from the director, Ben Pfeiffer’s experience of losing his father and watching his eldest sister become his sole carer.
“The loss of a parent is always one of the hardest things people will go through. Losing a parent is one of life’s most challenging experiences,” says Croft, who after reading the award-winning script, immediately wanted to be part of the project.
“It’s inevitable for most, as we usually outlive our parents, who have watched us throughout our lives. For most people, their mother is the person who has been there from the start.”
“Vianne, the mother in our story expresses the most beautiful unconditional love for her children, and they have to watch her fade away to an awful disease,’ she says, adding that “this is the heart of the story and it would have been impossible to shy away from the honesty of such a profound experience”.
While there are three powerhouse female-producers working to bring this vision of motherhood and caretaking to the big screen, Croft says there’s still a long way to go in employing and casting women in Australia’s film industry.
“We are well behind the UK and USA, except for a few companies leading the way,” she says, adding that generally across film and TV the amount of female to male roles isn’t 50/50 yet and the percentage of female directors is still far too low.
The percentage of female producers in Australia is much closer to 50 per cent, but funding for these film projects is still a big hurdle to jump.
“In Australia, we are very dependent on government funding, but there are very limited resources that aren’t all that accessible,” Croft says, which is why investing in all-female production teams, like Croft’s own team, sets a precedent and encourages the next generation of women in filmmaking.
“It shows possibility,” says Croft, “that first-time female filmmakers can get a film up and running. Aussies are great at supporting locally-owned and family-run. We just need to extend that to film, and help support the small guys.”
The Returned has just completed production and are currently in post production after a successful Australian Cultural Fund campaign. With the support of 190 donors, they raised $26,5000.
The funding is critical for creating the film and allowing Australians to connect with the story.
“As creatives we bare our souls all the time, we have to learn to be open and take risks otherwise you can’t be truly creative and I believe the most moving pieces come from vulnerability,” Croft says.
“Honesty around these complexities is extremely important. Honesty and insight into the real nitty gritty of grief is what the audience will connect to.”