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Intimacy coordinator

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An intimacy coordinator, sometimes called an intimacy director,[1] is a member of a film or television crew who ensures the well-being of actors and actresses who participate in sex scenes or other intimate scenes in theater, film and television production. Intimacy coordinators work closely with directors, movement directors, and choreographers to help plan out intimate scenes with the actors and other crew members.[2]

Function

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According to Intimacy Directors International, a nonprofit organization founded in 2016 by Alicia Rodis, Tonia Sina, and Siobhan Richardson[3] that advocates for the function, an intimacy coordinator is expected to ensure that:[4]

  • all staff and actors are aware of the context of the intimacy as part of the story,
  • communication about the intimacy takes place among participants and avenues for reporting harassment are available,
  • actors continually consent to all scenes of intimacy,
  • all scenes of intimacy are performed according to a previously agreed-to choreography, and
  • actors are encouraged to mark the end of each intimate scene with a moment to signal the return to real-life interaction.

The role of intimacy coordinator is not to be confused with that of an "intimacy choreographer", who specializes in the techniques of staging intimate scenes.[5][failed verification]

Implementation of intimacy coordinators

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There are many different instances in which a production set would require an intimacy coordinator. The job of an intimacy coordinator is not to ruin creativity, but rather to help produce that creativity in a way that is safe for all those involved.[6] Scenes involving simulated sex and/or kissing, power dynamics, suggestive movements, and sexual trauma among other things would be instances where an intimacy coordinator would be necessary during filming.[7] Following the #MeToo Movement and the recent changes to laws surrounding intimacy filming standards, the use of an intimacy coordinator has become an accepted industry standard.[8]

History

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While intimacy coordinators already existed in the realm of live theater, demand for their role gained significant traction within Hollywood and television and streaming platforms after the 2017 Weinstein scandal and the subsequent rise of the #MeToo movement.[9] These events highlighted the often routine nature of sexual harassment and misconduct that actors, particularly women, routinely faced within the industry. Actresses such as Emily Meade began to demand professional safeguards for their well-being on set.[9] They pointed out the imbalanced power dynamics often seen in productions, which could leave actors—particularly young and inexperienced ones—feeling too powerless to speak up if directors, staff members or other actors disregarded their consent or previous agreements regarding intimate scenes.[10]

Hollywood

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With the popularization of the #MeToo movement, numerous Hollywood-based actors joined the movement and fostered a new environment where actors began coming forward to share their stories about sexual assault while filming.[11] This large-scale movement unearthed many instances of sexual harassment throughout Hollywood, most notably shedding light on the producer Harvey Weinstein, who had 80 allegations of sexual harassment against him.[11] Following this time, the calls for the film industry to take charge and protect its actors became more pronounced, and it became apparent that changes needed to be made in the industry.

Television and streaming platforms

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In 2017, the London talent agency Carey Dodd Associates fronted a campaign for an industry standard in handling scenes of intimacy using guidelines developed by Ita O'Brien.[12] In October 2018, television network HBO adopted a policy of using intimacy coordinators for all its series and films with intimate scenes.[13] Soon after, other networks such as Netflix, Starz, Hulu, and Amazon began exploring the use of intimacy coordinators, and by 2020 there were 23 Emmy-nominated scripted programs that worked with intimacy coordinators.[14] In January 2019, Netflix released Sex Education, its first production that used an intimacy coordinator, Ita O'Brien.[15]

During HBO's filming of Game of Thrones, Emilia Clarke often spoke of feeling like she was too inexperienced of an actress to fight the nudity requirements on the show.[16] With this, multiple other actresses in the Game of Thrones cast spoke of similar discomfort when filming nudes scenes on the show.[16] Since then, HBO has adopted the use of intimacy coordinators in all intimate scenes, including with the newest film development in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, House of the Dragon.[13][16] Actress Emily Carey, who played young Alicent Hightower in the series, recalled how nervous she was to film an intimate scene with Paddy Considine during production.[16] But, she credited the series intimacy coordinator, Miriam Lucia, for helping her feel safe and calm while filming these intimate scenes.[17]

Training

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Training to become and intimacy coordinator has no formal requirements. However, with the countless scandals and stories of uneasiness and discomfort when filming intimate scenes, films and productions have began scrambling to hire intimacy coordinators.[18] Aspiring coordinators can take courses and get professionally certified through Centaury.Co, the Intimacy Coordinators Education Collective, Intimacy Directors & Coordinators, and the Intimacy Professionals Association, which are all primarily located in the U.S. and U.K (Backstage Staff, 2023).[19] All of these organizations have been endorsed by SAG-AFTRA, which has also put out a list of recommended requirements to become an intimacy coordinator, including requisites such as a state and federal background check, completing a SAG-AFTRA approved program, and mentorship from an establish intimacy coordinator.[20] As of April 2024, there are over 100 certified intimacy coordinators that work on production sets across the globe.[21]

Industry reactions

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Positive industry reactions

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Actors and filmmakers both in the UK and the United States have supported the implementation of intimacy coordinators. In 2019, the US actor’s association SAG-AFTRA created an official agreement with Intimacy Coordinators International in hopes of raising awareness of the importance of intimacy coordinators when filming.[22] In addition, Equity, a British actors’ union, created a support network called Safe Space in 2019. Safe Space was designed to help increase the number of sexual harassment cases that are being reported to British authorities and to ensure that everyone feels safe reporting these incidents.[22] The addition of these organizations to filming in both the US and UK has made the industry safer and more comfortable for actors, while also lessening the legal risk that certain films may face surrounding the production of intimate scenes.[22] Following this movement, intimacy coordinators have been successfully utilized in a number of popular productions including Bridgerton, Euphoria, and I May Destroy You.[22]

The fourth season of the TV series High Maintenance featured a storyline on an intimacy coordinator, portrayed by Abigail Bengson. Series co-creator and director Katja Blichfeld spoke in support of the profession, noting it was "a relief to be able to turn to a person for these moments that, in the past, we've had to navigate to our best ability."[23]

Negative industry reactions

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Actors and filmmakers have criticized the implementation of intimacy coordinators. Actor Sean Bean in an interview with Variety criticized the practice stating "I think the natural way lovers behave would be ruined by someone bringing it right down to a technical exercise."[24] French film director and screen writer Mia Hansen-Løve has also spoken against the use of intimacy coordinators calling them "some kind of virtue police"[25] British actor Michael Caine has questioned the need for the use of intimacy coordinators on set, stating how he feels that they interfere with the shooting of intimate scenes between actors.[26] Additionally Australian actress Toni Collette has said that the use of intimacy coordinators on set have made her feel "more anxious"[27] but has said that it would depend if she would work with them again, stating that they bring a "new energy" to set.[27] American actor and producer Michael Douglas and Argentine-Italian filmmaker Gaspar Noé have also spoken out against the practice.  

Sam Levinson's 2023 TV series The Idol satirized the use of intimacy coordinators.[28]

Further reading

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  • Hegarty, Siobhan (2 May 2020). "From Normal People to Game of Thrones, sex on screen matters for actors and audiences alike". ABC News (Radio National - The Minefield). Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

References

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  1. ^ Hilton, Emily (10 December 2020). "Let's Talk About Simulated Sex: Intimacy Coordinators Two Years On". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 15 September 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  2. ^ Andrews, Travis M. (16 April 2019). "Inside the world of intimacy coordinators, who choreograph sex scenes for HBO, Netflix and more". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 23 July 2020. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  3. ^ "Meet The 'Intimacy Directors' Who Choreograph Sex Scenes". HuffPost. 2018. Archived from the original on 4 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  4. ^ "Pillars of safe intimacy: Rehearsal and performance practice" (PDF). Intimacy Directors International. 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 June 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  5. ^ Collins-Hughes, Laura (15 June 2017). "Need to Fake an Orgasm? There's an 'Intimacy Choreographer' for That". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 17 December 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  6. ^ jburkepmc (29 March 2023). "The Rise and Necessity of Intimacy Coordinators". Golden Globes. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  7. ^ Wickins, Laura Bailey (29 January 2023). "The Role of the Intimacy Coordinator". NYFA. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  8. ^ Sørensen, Inge Ejbye (18 August 2022). "Sex and safety on set: intimacy coordinators in television drama and film in the VOD and post-Weinstein era". Feminist Media Studies. 22 (6): 1395–1410. doi:10.1080/14680777.2021.1886141. ISSN 1468-0777.
  9. ^ a b Zageris, Larissa (1 November 2022). "Intimacy Coordinators: The New Group Of Experts Poised To Change Hollywood Forever". Looper. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  10. ^ Kerr, Breena (24 October 2018). "How HBO Is Changing Sex Scenes Forever". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  11. ^ a b agatewood1 (10 January 2023). ""No Surprises": Intimacy Coordinators on Film and Theater Sets, and What They Mean For All of Us". Women's Center at UMBC. Retrieved 7 October 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ "Call for new 'intimacy director' role to safeguard actors in sex scenes". The Stage. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  13. ^ a b Martinelli, Marissa (29 October 2018). "HBO Sex Scenes Will Be Monitored by "Intimacy Coordinators" From Now On". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  14. ^ Hilton, Emily (10 December 2020). "Let's Talk About Simulated Sex: Intimacy Coordinators Two Years On". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  15. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (21 June 2020). "'Sex Education' Star Asa Butterfield Says Working With Intimacy Coordinator Helped Cast "Find Our Boundaries"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  16. ^ a b c d Zageris, Larissa (1 November 2022). "Intimacy Coordinators: The New Group Of Experts Poised To Change Hollywood Forever". Looper. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  17. ^ Bergeson, Samantha (19 September 2022). "'House of the Dragon' Intimacy Coordinator: We're Sensitive to 'Thrones' Bad Rap for 'Gratuitous' Sex". IndieWire. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  18. ^ Zageris, Larissa (1 November 2022). "Intimacy Coordinators: The New Group Of Experts Poised To Change Hollywood Forever". Looper. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  19. ^ "How to Become an Intimacy Coordinator". Backstage. 13 February 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  20. ^ "Home | SAG-AFTRA". www.sagaftra.org. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  21. ^ ""We're not the sex police": Here's what intimacy coordinators actually do on film and TV sets - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. 27 April 2024. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  22. ^ a b c d Sørensen, Inge Ejbye (18 August 2022). "Sex and safety on set: intimacy coordinators in television drama and film in the VOD and post-Weinstein era". Feminist Media Studies. 22 (6): 1395–1410. doi:10.1080/14680777.2021.1886141. ISSN 1468-0777.
  23. ^ Lutes, Alicia (28 February 2020). "High Maintenance's Katja Blichfeld Will Never Run Out of Stories That Restore New Yorkers' Humanity". Elle.
  24. ^ Yossman, K. J. (8 August 2022). "'Games of Thrones' Star Sean Bean Says Intimacy Coordinators 'Spoil the Spontaneity,' Decries Censorship". Variety. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  25. ^ Hogan, Michael (16 April 2023). "Mia Hansen-Løve: 'I'd rather not film sex scenes than have virtue police on set'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  26. ^ Gearan, Hannah (26 September 2023). ""We Never Had That In My Day": Michael Caine Questions The Need For Intimacy Coordinators On Set". ScreenRant. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  27. ^ a b Walker, Clay. "Toni Collette says intimacy coordinators actually make her 'more anxious' on set and once 'asked them to leave'". Business Insider. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  28. ^ Hailu, Selome (16 June 2023). "An Intimacy Coordinator Reacts to 'The Idol' Pilot: 'I Felt Betrayed' That HBO 'Used Us as the Butt of the Joke'". Variety.

Sources

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