Making Filmmaking A Safe Space with Intimacy Coordination
Intimacy coordination is a relatively new, but extremely important, field in the film industry.
An intimacy coordinator is a trained professional who works with actors and production teams to ensure that scenes involving sexual content, nudity, or physical intimacy are handled in a safe, respectful, and professional manner.
Intimacy coordinators are trained in areas regarding consent, boundaries, and communication. They work with actors and production teams to establish clear boundaries and protocols for handling scenes that involve any kind of physical intimacy.
Additionally, intimacy coordinators provide support to actors during rehearsals and on set. This ensures that they feel more comfortable and secure during potentially vulnerable moments.
They serve to balance the power dynamic between the production team and actors to make sure that the story can be told without causing any trauma.
Another aspect of intimacy coordination is working with the wardrobe department to use modesty garments and barriers to limit real sexual contact between actors.
After the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, it became obvious that not enough was being done to prevent sexual abuse in professional environments, especially on film sets.
The rise of importance for intimacy coordinators in the film industry today shows an effort to make film sets a safe and professional environment for everyone involved.
Some production companies are even starting to require intimacy coordinators on their shoots.
Ariella Fiore, a professional intimacy coordinator, shares her thoughts on this profession and its importance.
“I like to compare the work we do to building a playground,” she says. “I… build it with the consent and boundaries of the actors so that it can be run over, played with, frolicked upon, all because we know we have built it to be super strong.”
Consent forward thinking is one of the building blocks to having equity in the workplace.
In Fiore’s words, “It’s revolutionary, the idea of putting people first. Mental health first. It’s about so much more than just nudity and simulated sex.”
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