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As part of the online event, ten acting talents were selected by an international jury, that included US casting director and ICDN member Cassandra Han, Kosovan director Antoneta Kastrati and Danish producer René Ezra.

The programme also included three panels specifically on casting:

• EQUITY IN CASTING, moderated by Imran Khan, Head of Development, Big Window Production, included New York Casting Director Aleta Chappelle, European-based American casting director and ICDN member Cassandra Han and London, Berlin and Istanbul based talent agent and actor Olgu Caglar.
• THE ART OF CASTING, moderated by actress and talent agent Caprice Crawford, focused on two recent award-nominated productions: Bridgerton and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Both productions were cast by ICDN members – Kelly Valentine Hendry (Bridgerton) and Avy Kaufman (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) – who discussed the particular casting processes for these projects.
• CASTING FOR PRODUCERS, a question and answer session for producers and directors with ICDN members Timka Grin and Luci Lenox, as well as casting director Nicci Topping and Gary Broughton from Spotlight.

All three panel sessions are available to watch back online:

EUROPEAN SHOOTING STARS is an important event for enabling international careers for acting talent. Shooting Stars of recent years include Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman, The Great Gatsby), Oscar-winner Alicia Vikander (Tomb Raider), Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones), Riz Ahmed (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Mogul Mowgli- Berlinale2020) and George MacKay(1917).

EFP online.

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First in our series of interviews is with UK casting legend Debbie McWilliams, Honorary Member and one of the founders of the International Casting Directors Network.

Lots of directors tend to rely on people they already know, and it’s our job to introduce people whom they won’t know and give a chance to, because otherwise you would see the same old people over and over again.

Debbie McWilliams, ICDN, CDG, AMPAS

Stay tuned for more interviews with our esteemed members!

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First in the series of interviews is with Debbie McWilliams, Honorary member and one of the founders of the International Casting Directors Network.

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As we are approaching the end of 2020–a year of so many challenges–we are thinking of our members and friends who lost loved ones, and saluting those who fought personally with Covid-19, wildfires, earthquakes, economic hardship and social injustices.

We are happy for all the successes of our dear colleagues and friends, and thankful for the hard work and support our members provided for the ICDN throughout this year.

We have learned a lot, and this extraordinary time made us change gears, work harder, and grow, far outside our comfort zones. It was intense, somewhat exhausting, but we surely have emerged stronger. May we all continue, together, in good health and hopefully meet in person soon. Cheers!

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(Barcelona) French casting director Élodie Demey, along with co-casting directors Marie-France Michel and Justine Léocadie, will be the first to take home a newly-minted figurine in honor of their work on the 2019 feature Hors Normes (The Specials), directed by Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano.

The International Casting Directors Network (ICDN) established the first-ever international prize for best casting of a feature film in 2016, in order to spotlight the essential role and extraordinary achievements of casting directors in the filmmaking process. Since then, the award has been presented at Locarno Film Festival, Sarajevo Film Festival, and this year in Barcelona, at the Sitges Fantastic Film Festival of Catalunya.

This year, the award also received a new polish, in the form of an official statuette and new award name: the Semiramis Award for Best Casting.

Semiramis was a legendary Assyrian queen who ruled with wisdom, strength and steadiness. The statuette is an original work by Swiss sculptor Peter Hartmann, whose bronzes are exhibited throughout Geneva in parks and public places.

Due to COVID-19, the 2020 Semiramis Award programme was conducted virtually through the Sitges Industry Hub Online on Friday, October 16th. Spanish actress Melina Matthews presented the honors at a ceremony hosted by Barcelona-based ICDN member Luci Lenox.

“The casting of Hors Normes is truly an example of what we fellow casting directors recognise as a brilliant job: the combination of major stars at the top of their game, combined with new talent and real authenticity,” said Lenox.

“It is a great honour for me to receive this award for which I thank the ICDN and the jury,” said Demey. “Casting this important and brilliantly directed film has been a truly enriching and interesting experience for me. I would like to share this award with both of my co-casting directors, Justine Léocadie and Marie-France Michel. Together, we have worked to form a strong group made of famous actors, newcomers, and non-actors, all of which give life to this poignant and moving film with great talent.”

Casting directors are still the sole department heads credited in the main titles of a film who receive no acknowledgment at most of the world’s top award shows (such as the Oscars or David di Donatello Awards), which is what originally prompted ICDN to establish its own casting award.

Since then, however, casting directors saw one of their own elected to the head of the Academy of Motion Pictures–sparking hope for a future Oscar–followed by the creation of a prestigious new Best Casting Award at the BAFTAs. With the renowned and steadfast Semiramis now at the helm, a sea change in their campaign for recognition appears to be finally underway.

NOMINEES FOR ICDN’S 2020 SEMIRAMIS AWARD FOR BEST CASTING

SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL

Timka Grin | Antoinette Boulat | Sebastián Moradiellos

(Bosnia & Herzegovina, 2019)

A PERFECTLY NORMAL FAMILY

Anja Philip

(Denmark, 2020)

HORS NORMES (WINNER)

Élodie Demey | Co-casting: Justine Léocadie, Marie-France Michel

(France, 2019)

HOPE

Celine Engebrigtsen

(Norway, 2019)

PLATZSPITZBABY

Corinna Glaus | Co-casting: Nora Leibundgut

(Switzerland, 2019)

The Award Ceremony can be viewed here:

ICDN is a professional association bringing together casting directors from over 25 different countries to network, connect, share information, and help raise the profile of the casting profession.

Established in 1968, Sitges, the International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia, is the number one fantasy film festival in the world. For more information, please visit sitgesfilmfestival.com.

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(Barcelona) For the past few years, sunny Sarajevo has played host to the International Casting Directors Network‘s Best Casting Award ceremony each August.

This year, due to travel restrictions and safety measures under COVID-19, accolades will be handed out instead in collaboration with Sitges Film Festival in Barcelona, in an online ceremony featuring special guests and other surprises.

Sitges, the International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia, is the number one fantasy film festival in the world. This year’s festival will present a combination of live and online events. ICDN’s award ceremony is slated for a virtual red carpet at 19:00 CEST (Central European Summer Time) on Friday, October 16, 2020.

The Award for Best Casting was established in 2016 as the first-ever international prize for best casting of a feature film, spotlighting the essential role and extraordinary achievements of casting directors around the world in the filmmaking process.

While some progress has been made in recent years, such as the prestigious Best Casting BAFTA, casting directors are the sole department heads whose names appear in the main titles of a film without any recognition at most of the top award ceremonies (such as the Oscars or David di Donatello Awards). Yet, without them, many films would never get made – much less possess the chemistry and brilliance of an artfully assembled cast.

As ICDN Executive Board Member Lana Veenker noted, “Good casting requires exquisite taste and judgment, intuition, inspiration, curiosity, an encyclopedic knowledge of actors, and an ability to think outside the box. It commands powerful directing skills to draw out nuanced performances, and the diplomacy and tact to play intermediary between creative and financial interests. Casting directors are advocates for actors they believe in, and for artistic choices that bring the whole ensemble together. We are thrilled to recognize these extraordinary artists, representing the best of our profession, and to celebrate their achievements”

NOMINEES FOR ICDN’S 2020 BEST CASTING AWARD

SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL

Timka Grin | Antoinette Boulat | Sebastián Moradiellos

(Bosnia & Herzegovina, 2019)

A PERFECTLY NORMAL FAMILY

Anja Philip

(Denmark, 2020)

HORS NORMES

Élodie Demey | Co-casting: Justine Léocadie, Marie-France Michel

(France, 2019)

HOPE

Celine Engebrigtsen

(Norway, 2019)

PLATZSPITZBABY

Corinna Glaus | Co-casting: Nora Leibundgut

(Switzerland, 2019)

Laurels will be presented virtually this year via Sitges Industry Hub Online on Friday, October 16th at 19h (CEST).

RSVPs are required to access the Industry Hub. Deadline to register is Tuesday, October 13th, 2020.

To confirm attendance, please register at the link below by October 13th, and an invitation will be sent to you:

RSVP

ICDN is a professional association bringing together casting directors from over 25 different countries to network, connect, share information, and help raise the profile of the casting profession. For more information, please visit theICDN.com.

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We recognise that the performing arts reflect the wide range of the human experience, and that an inclusive casting process has the potential to discover and nurture fresh talents, to ensure that film and media reflects the diverse world around us and to cater appropriately to emerging markets of diverse audiences. 

Our Network supports the casting of actors from varying social, economic and cultural backgrounds, to create opportunity, access and equity, and believes that courage and innovation are values that can pay off in commercial products. 

In addition, we acknowledge the lack of diversity within our own ranks, and entreat all of our members to provide opportunities, access, mentorship and employment to people of colour, as well as all other underrepresented groups, in order for our profession to more accurately reflect the rich and vibrant world we live in.

We will continue to learn and take action to improve diversity within the sector, amongst our colleagues and with all professional organisations that we work with. We will start monitoring equality in castings and amongst our members by distributing forms, so that we have a clear set of figures to refer to. 

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(Sarajevo) For the past few years, Sarajevo Film Festival, one of Europe’s most prestigious yearly film events, has played host to the International Casting Directors Network’s annual award ceremony. This year, due to travel restrictions and safety measures under COVID-19, accolades will be handed out in a special online ceremony, featuring special guests and other surprises, on Thursday, August 20^th, 2020.

ICDN’s Award for Best Casting was established in 2016 as the first-ever international prize for best casting of a feature film, spotlighting the essential role and extraordinary achievements of casting directors in the filmmaking process.

While some progress has been made in recent years, such as the prestigious Best Casting BAFTA, casting directors are the sole department heads whose names appear in the main titles of a film without any recognition at most of the top award ceremonies (such as the Oscars or David di Donatello Awards). Yet, without them, many films would never get made – much less possess the chemistry and brilliance of an artfully assembled cast. 

As ICDN Executive Board Member Lana Veenker noted, “Good casting requires exquisite taste and judgment, intuition, inspiration, curiosity, an encyclopedic knowledge of actors, and an ability to think outside the box. It commands powerful directing skills to draw out nuanced performances, and the diplomacy and tact to play intermediary between creative and financial interests. Casting directors are advocates for actors they believe in, and for artistic choices that bring the whole ensemble together. We are thrilled to announce these nominees, representing the best of our profession, and to celebrate their achievements.”

Nominees for ICDN’S 2020 Best Casting Award

SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL (Bosnia & Herzegovina, 2019)
Timka Grin | Antoinette Boulat | Sebastian Moradiellos 

A PERFECTLY NORMAL FAMILY (Denmark, 2020)
Anja Philip

HORS NORMES (France, 2019)
Élodie Demey | Co-casting: Justine Leocadie, Marie-France Michel

HOPE (Norway, 2019)
Celine Engebrigtsen 

PLATZSPITZBABY (Switzerland, 2019)
Corinna Glaus | Co-casting: Nora Leibundgut

Laurels will be presented virtually this year via Zoom on Thursday, August 20th at 19h (CET). Interested parties may receive a link to join the ceremony and press conference by registering at the link below:

RSVP

ICDN is a professional association bringing together casting directors from over 25 different countries to network, connect, share information, and help raise the profile of the profession. For more information, please visit theICDN.com.

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To help ensure a professional environment and to enable the director to believe that a performer’s ‘yes’ is freely and confidently given, we strongly recommend following the guidelines set forth below.

AUDITIONS

All rules about nudity and intimacy apply for online and self-taped auditions, as well as for all sessions that take place in-person.

• If a role requires nudity, semi-nudity or simulated sex (including kissing) the casting brief should detail this, enabling the performer to make an informed decision about participating in the audition. This should be done to the best of the casting director’s knowledge in the pre-production period.
• Auditions and meetings should take place in professional spaces and within reasonable hours. If a private home or hotel is used for auditions or meetings, separate space should be clearly delineated for professional work. Agents and casting directors should explicitly clarify that these meetings should remain in the lobby or living room, and never move into high-risk locations. The performer should be strongly encouraged to bring along a chaperone, who stays with the performer throughout the entire session.
• Never assume a performer is comfortable with nudity or simulated sex, even if they’ve done it before.
• Don’t treat “adult film” performers differently; everyone deserves consideration and respect.
• When making an offer to high-profile performers who’ve not auditioned, it’s key to brief agents fully. Performers need to know they will be working in a safe environment.
• There’s no need to use scenes of sex or violence to reveal character in first auditions.
• If callbacks require sex scenes, these should be done fully clothed and planned collaboratively with an Intimacy Coordinator to work with performers beforehand, using a system of agreement and consent. If touching is necessary, actors should agree what part of their body may be touched, for example.
• Actors should be encouraged to agree in writing to their boundaries beforehand. For example, if there is kissing involved, they can say “I agree to closed-mouth kissing only.” Actors have the right to preserve their health and not kiss.
• Boundaries set during the audition phase should not be held against the performer or seen as a refusal to fulfill the legitimate requirements of the eventual role.
• In cases when auditions are conducted exclusively via video conferencing or self-tapes, all the same rules about nudity and intimacy apply.

NUDITY & SEMI-NUDITY

Be sensitive about cultural differences regarding what is acceptable. Always respect actor modesty.

• No full nudity is ever necessary in an audition or callback. Never in-person, never online, never in a self-tape.
• Semi-nudity should occur only at the callback stage, and only if it is legitimately relevant to fulfilling the requirements of the role. This type of “viewing” should take place with the performer wearing a swimsuit of his or her choice and should be separated from performance of the scenes. The agent and performer should be given 48 hours’ notice and the full script should be supplied. If the project is secret, NDAs (Non-Disclosure Agreements, drawn up by a legal firm, that swear the artist to secrecy) covering script content are acceptable.
• If a callback does legitimately require semi-nudity, only minimum key production people (casting director, director and producer) should be in room. All parties should agree to this in advance, and the performer should be encouraged to bring a support peer who remains in the room whenever the performer is semi-nude.
• If the semi-nudity is to be filmed or photographed, the production must obtain explicit consent, in writing, from the performer; agents should always be informed.
• Viewing of filmed or photographed material containing semi-nudity must be limited to essential parties, that is: producer, director, casting director and costume designer. Only those who have a legitimate necessity to view them should do so.
• Filmed or photographed material containing semi-nudity must be stored securely, whether in a physical or online location. All such material must be destroyed after the pre-production period.
• Performers should never be asked to self-tape or photograph themselves nude or semi-nude.
• Performers should never be asked to tape or photograph sexual acts, whether simulated or real, kissing included.

CONTRACTING

• Casting directors should encourage production to issue a nudity rider, detailing the actor’s consent to any nudity, semi-nudity or simulated sex required for the role.
• Casting directors should encourage productions to exercise the standard on-set courtesies, such as a closed set and limits set on those viewing video monitors during filming of any sensitive scenes.
• Props and costume pieces should respect performer modesty and should be explicitly described in the nudity rider.
• Casting directors should encourage productions to employ Intimacy Coordinators to choreograph simulated sex.
• Production must note full details of sensitive scenes in the contract, and explicitly state what exposure and publicity is expected.
• Production is obliged to use these scenes only for completion of the project – i.e. cannot be included in publicity and/or making-of package, without the written consent of the performer.
• Storage of sensitive scenes should be secure, whether in a physical or online location; the requirement of secure storage should be explicitly stated in the nudity rider.

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