Bethany White is a Writer, Producer and Sound Designer at Dark Avenue Film
What is your professional background in the arts?
My partner Patrick and I set up Dark Avenue Film when we moved back to the island after graduating from the same film course at university, in 2018. We've produced a multitude of fiction, documentary and commercial work in the last two and a half years, including an adaptation of one of Sophia Morrison's lesser known Manx Fairy Tales and a film chronicling the history of Manx Youth Band for their 50th anniversary this year. We've screened at international film festivals and won twelve awards to date for our films. We have also written a feature-length screenplay which has placed highly in four high-profile international screenwriting competitions.
What inspired you to pursue a career as a screenwriter and filmmaker?
It was always writing for me. I grew up basically living at the library, but convinced myself out of pursuing being an author when I had to really think about career options around GCSE - which is when I got into TV and film in a big way. To be honest, I was watching TV more than I was studying. One day it occurred to me to Google whether I could study film, and bingo; it all clicked into place. I did an independently led project during my A levels where I researched and wrote a TV pilot script, and that made me even more certain I wanted to go down this route. I studied BSc Film and TV Production at the University of York (a bonus of which was the technical aspect, as I'd always enjoyed Physics and Maths too) which gave me a great grounding in the entire process of filmmaking. My sound niche was a happy accidental discovery along the way, and is a great technical skill to have, but I focused my studies on screenwriting in my later years. I met Patrick on the course and we made lots of films together, both as part of the course and outside of it. We made a great team and inspired and pushed one another to achieve, so we decided to set up a business together when we graduated, and I think we'd be in different places today if we hadn't united our strengths. We also started to write our scripts together; he's amazing and producing and developing ideas, and our collaboration inspires me with every script.
What are the current challenges for women in your creative industry?
Getting the numbers up, especially in the technical departments. After going to an all-girls secondary school, and then to a university course which had a 50/50 gender split, I'm often surprised by how few women there are in the sound department. I was also surprised by the report by Stephen Follows and the Writer's Guild of Great Britain a few years ago to see the stats on gender of writers for UK film and TV productions 2001-2016; writing has always seemed like a more evenly split profession, but even in TV, which has a far better gender split than film, women had only accounted for 30% or writers on UK TV productions during that period. The exact gender split fluctuates through these stats, but there don't seem to be many trends towards equality in the duration of the study; not much has changed. And when you look at career progression, the stats speak for themselves; there's a smaller and smaller percentage women the higher up the ranks you go. Well worth a read, and well worth pursuing changing these stats!
What progress have you seen for women in your field?
I've not been long in the industry really, but there are lots of schemes and organisations trying to move things in the right direction. I've had a positive experience so far, had lots of encouragement and opportunities, and Patrick and I know and work with lots of other brilliant women who are boldly creating, which can only offer hope that things are turning in the right direction.
Share a women’s empowerment moment that inspired you.
Sarah Lancashire's BAFTA acceptance speech for Happy Valley - it mostly consists of wholehearted, overflowing praise for writer-director-producer Sally Wainwright and a host of actresses she admires, and that outpouring of admiration for a fellow female creative is beautiful to see. Also, pretty much anything Uzo Aduba does in Mrs America - does that count?
What do you think is the biggest issue today facing women of your age?
I can't speak for all of them, but my first thought is confidence. It's difficult for anyone trying to find their way coming out of education, seeking income and purpose, but especially in male-dominated professions it's easy to feel imposter syndrome take hold. I also think a lot of women put extra pressue on themselves to succeed, to prove that women can do it too - I certainly feel that sometimes. But it's important to just take things a step at a time, and wherever possible, work with people who value you.
How important is it for women to lift each other up and what does that mean to you?
Growing a career in film is all about sharing success and helping one another get started. There has long been a societal pressure to pit women against one another, and I think that by celebrating each other's successes, women's achievements will become commonplace in the narrative, and we'll be celebrated simply as a person who achieved. We're certainly heading towards that, which excites me.
In the wake of International Women’s Day, what is the most important message you want to send out to young women thinking about a career in the arts?
Just go for it. Really, that's all you can do! Make use of the schemes and competitions that are there for women, as they're there for you to help level the playing field - the same goes for regional schemes encouraging the creative industries outside of London, and support like the Arts Council. If you've found something you love doing, you'll find a way to do it, especially with the support of other creatives - your network is so important, not just for finding work, but also for solidarity with other young creatives trying to find their way. You're always welcome to drop us a line at Dark Avenue Film!
What have you been up to?
Our two fiction short films have their world premieres coming up - and you can join in from your sofa! 'The Lost Wife', an adaptation of a Manx fairy tale, will be available to watch 13th-16th March at www.bciff/org, and 'An Endless Summer', which we made remotely during the first lockdown, will be available to watch at www.ratedsrfilmd.org ('Home and Belonging: Covid Shorts' section) 15th-21st March - single tickets are $7, which includes three other fantastic short films (and you can vote for us in the audience award!), or you can get access to the whole event for $75 - they have an 'Empowering Women and Girls' category, well worth a look! Patrick will also be on a Q&A panel on their YouTube channel at 7:30PM Sat 20th. You can get in touch and keep up to date with Dark Avenue Film on Facebook and Instagram.
