Writer and Director
Ili Bare

In 2016, 76 female Scientists from all around the world boarded a ship for a 20 day expedition to the planet’s last untouched wilderness, Antarctica, to take part in a leadership program for the first time. The aim of the program, a model named Homeward Bound run by Melbourne-based lead facilitator Fabian Dattner, is essentially to provide these women with the tools they need to be the leaders they aspire to be in their respective fields. Fabian has quite a strong personality and can be a little brash with her choice of dialogue and its delivery, which can understandably come across as aggressive to some of the women who find her unapproachable.

Further topics discoursed by the women in this film include the impacts of climate change, gender pay gap, disadvantages for women in science due to the nature of the Academia world and the abuse and harassment that they experience in the various fields of science. As emotions run high and with Fabian’s leadership style ruffling more than a few feathers, can this program still serve the purpose and value intended?

There are a handful of authenticated, albeit damning and upsetting stats to appear throughout the film that make it more clear and truthful than ever both what it’s like for women in science right now and what currently awaits a woman interested in entering the field. Are you ready? A staggering 71% of women in field of Sciences have experienced sexual harassment and 26% have experienced sexual assault. That’s essentially 1 in 4. Shocking. Not exactly an open-arms invitation if you’re a female, right? If that wasn’t enough of a detraction, then perhaps the fact that globally, women are paid 37% less than men might turn them away from pursuing their potential career. As you can fathom and appreciate, these are just some of the very real issues many women are fighting to change and where us men are needed more than ever to make a stand and force change.

Sometimes, The Leadership isn’t immediately clear on the exact topic being spoken to by its subjects, but it absolutely makes the aforementioned known and features several compelling experiences shared by many of the women on board that sadly supports those stats. This documentary is also really useful at illustrating and allowing viewers to fathom the challenges and sacrifices Academics must face in order to pursue their passions, advance their careers and gain secure employment.

From about the half-way point to roughly three-quarters of the way through, I felt severely challenged by this documentary. I wasn’t aware that this would be a ‘warts and all’ experience prior to watching, so the film’s purpose was completely lost on me for a while then. Rest assured, the telling final minutes of The Leadership well and truly reconciles every contrary angle explored and leaves the documentary feeling like a wholesome experience that offers hope for change.

3 ½ stars

Viewer Discretion
M (Mature themes and coarse language)

Trailer
The Leadership

Moviedoc thanks ABCG films for providing the screener link to watch and review this film.

The Leadership kicks off its theatrical season on October 1 in Perth, October 8 in Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra and Melbourne (pending cinemas re-opening) and October 15 in Hobart and other states.

Review by Leigh for Moviedoc
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