Reclaim The Frame, BFI and Women and Hollywood bring Beyond the Binary to Cannes

We’re thrilled to be bringing our Beyond the Binary to Cannes, further spearheading ongoing conversations promoting trans allyship in the sector. 

In partnership with BFI Inclusion and Women and Hollywood, and as part of Marché du Film 2025 conference programme, our director Melanie Iredale will be co-hosting ‘Beyond the Binary: Best Practices for a Gender Inclusive Industry’. 

Trans and non-binary professionals are marginalised in film, and while the current sociopolitical context presents new challenges, the industry is exploring ways to be more inclusive. Join this much-needed conversation around allyship and how we can all create better practices.

This panel is led by the BFI, Reclaim The Frame and Women and Hollywood.

Speakers: 

Amrou Al-Kadhi (they/them) | filmmaker (LAYLA), writer (LIFE AS A UNICORN) and performer 

Chica Andrade (she/her) | writer and director (WE ARE ALL HERE, HOUSE OF HILTON) and former Board member of  Association of Trans Professionals in Audiovisual

Kiyoko McCrae (she/her) | Program Director, Chicken & Egg Films

Moderator: 

Tricia Tuttle (she/her) | Festival Director, Berlinale

Hosts: 

Melanie Iredale (she/her) | Director, Reclaim The Frame 

Melissa Silverstein (she/her) | Founder, Women and Hollywood 

Please join us, together with filmmakers and industry professionals on May 17, 2025, 15:30 - 16:30 GMT+2 at Palais Stage (Palais -1).

The event is open to those with festival accreditation, and will be available as a livestream online for general audiences.

Learn more.

Statement on the recent Supreme Court judgement

We stand in solidarity with Trans, Non-binary and Intersex communities.

Like many of you, we have been watching this news unfold with a great deal of concern for our Trans, Non-binary and Intersex communities, and including those already vulnerable in our audiences. 

We welcome, and have pre-signed, an open letter to the EHRC, written by our partners at Watershed, in collaboration with trans activists, signed by a growing number of leaders from the UK Culture Sector, expressing substantial concern with the interim guidance they have issued. The letter calls for the EHRC to consult with the Trans, Non-binary and Intersex communities, and with those running public/cultural venues, on how to best keep people safe. 

With 5% of our RTF audiences identifying as Non-binary, 4% as Trans, 1% as Intersex, and 46% as LGBTQI+, we know how important this is to so many who attend our events. Thanks to the work of yourselves as venue partners, and our various collaborators, speakers, etc, 91% of those who report feeling regularly excluded at cinema events report feeling included at Reclaim The Frame events. Our aim is to grow this.

As part of our work towards this, we recently conducted an access audit across all partner venues, including information about venue provision of gender-neutral toilets. We found that some of our venue partners have gender-neutral toilet facilities. Others, as the letter recognises, aren’t necessarily able to ‘magic up’ new toilet facilities due to financial challenges or structural capacity. Of those, where possible, we will work with partner venues to facilitate more inclusive provision, having developed specific signage to display during our events. We will signpost audiences to this, along with our other access provisions in our communications and in-person introductions. 

The letter is online and open for signatures and we encourage organisations within the film industry and wider cultural sector to share, read and sign.

Introducing our new Head of Campaigns, Flo Cartwright!

Following our widely circulated open call, we’re excited to announce that film marketing and events specialist Flo Cartwright (she/her) is joining the Charity, overseeing Reclaim The Frame’s audience engagement work and the impactful delivery of our new release campaigns. 

With a decade of experience across the screen industries, higher education, and non-profits, Flo has led communications and fundraising initiatives at SOAS University of London, One World Media, and most recently as Marketing Manager at the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA), where she developed audiences for British independent cinema alongside leading on comms for four successful Awards seasons. 

Flo has also supported short and feature film productions on set, bringing a practical understanding of filmmaking. She is a member of the Films of Resistance collective, and has long been an advocate for our work at Reclaim The Frame.

Stepping into the senior management role of Head of Campaigns, Flo brings expertise across digital strategy, partnerships and brand building. With an ambition to serve filmmakers and audiences, ensuring a diverse range of stories are seen, heard and valued, we welcome Flo to join our mission for gender equity in all film spaces.