The Inclusion List
he goal of The Inclusion List is to celebrate the films, filmmakers, and companies who are supporting inclusion on screen and behind-the-camera.
It relies on a rigorous, quantitative assessment of hiring practices to determine the winners. In the first year, The Inclusion List recognized notable leaders and projects. In its second iteration, The Inclusion List spotlights projects from 2023 that were leaders on inclusion and highlights the people who brought those stories to life.
DR. STACY L. SMITH
Founder of Annenberg Inclusion Initiative
The directors who have worked with the most women and/or people of color as cinematographers, editors, production designers, or assistant directors across the last 5 years.
Women and/or people of color working as editors whose work appears most often on the Inclusion List across the last 5 years.
The films from 2023 that scored highest on the representation of girls/women on screen and behind the camera.
The films from 2023 that scored highest on the representation of underrepresented racial/ethnic groups on screen and behind the camera.
The films from 2023 that scored highest on the representation of the LGBTQ+ community on screen.
The films from 2023 that scored highest on the representation of people with disabilities on screen.
The films from 2023 that scored highest on the representation of people age 65 and older on screen.
The most inclusive films from the last 5 years, determined by on screen and behind the camera scores.
| Title | Year Released | Distributor | Total Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Woman King | 2022 | TriStar Pictures | 15.0 |
| A Thousand and One | 2023 | Focus Features | 13.6 |
| Harriet | 2019 | Focus Features | 13.0 |
| The Farewell | 2019 | A24 | 12.8 |
| Zola | 2021 | A24 | 12.7 |
The studio distributors with the highest score and most films on the Inclusion List across the last 5 years.
| Distributor | Total Films | Total Score | Total BTS | Total On Screen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Universal Pictures | 29 | 235.2 | 141.2 | 94 |
| Sony Pictures Entertainment | 21 | 166.9 | 98.9 | 68 |
| Warner Bros. | 18 | 131.5 | 89.5 | 42 |
| Lionsgate Films | 10 | 80.6 | 48.6 | 32 |
| Walt Disney Studios | 11 | 80.1 | 49.1 | 31 |
The independent distributors with the highest score and most films on the Inclusion List across the last 5 years.
| Distributor | Total Films | Total Score | Total BTS | Total On Screen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A24 | 14 | 115.2 | 76.2 | 39 |
| Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | 10 | 82.9 | 53.9 | 29 |
| Bleecker Street Media | 9 | 64.9 | 40.9 | 24 |
| Neon | 5 | 39.6 | 23.6 | 16 |
| STX Entertainment | 2 | 17.1 | 10.1 | 7 |
The Inclusion List was determined through a process of assigning points for films that met inclusion metrics. A total of 20 points could be earned: 10 for cast, 10 for crew. We examined the percentage of White Men, White Women, Underrepresented Men, and Underrepresented Women across each behind-the-scenes position included in the rankings. Points were totaled across all available metrics on screen and behind the camera, and films were ranked according to their full point total. The Inclusion List is comprised of the top 150 US originating films that earned between 5.3 and 15 points across all inclusion metrics.
The Annenberg Inclusion Initiative partnered with the Adobe Foundation to create a data-driven tool that would allow the public to understand who has taken inclusion seriously and been a driving force for industry change. We seek to inform, challenge, and congratulate the entertainment industry and point out where there is room to grow.
We would like to express our gratitude to the individuals and organizations who have assisted and supported us, in addition to our outstanding team. Amy White, Julia Tian, and Brycie Jones, along with Karen Do, Lexie Riegelhaupt, and Elise O'Neil and their colleagues at the Adobe Foundation have provided unwavering support for this project since its inception. The dedicated team at the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative also played a significant role in making this project possible, and we extend our appreciation to our hardworking students for their contributions.
Annenberg Inclusion Initiative Founder: Dr. Stacy L. Smith
Program Director: Dr. Katherine Pieper
Program Manager: Ariana Case
Project Administrator: Katherine Neff
Development Team: Sam Wheeler and Anvitha Chegu Ashokkumar
Design Team: Brooke Kong and Isabelle Lim
Research Assistants: Amy Andrade, Angela Bogosyan, Anish Lahorani, Aryana Dizadji, Danielle Hsieh, Halle Thompson, Hrushikesh Lavate, Jaden Sibrian, Janelle Nwakuche, Kally Yuan, Katie Lee, Nelson Lou, Olu Ajayi, Sanjana Senthil, Sophia Pelaez, Tyrese Shaffer
Annenberg Inclusion Initiative Staff Team: Aimee Christopher, Braxton Albers, Bryan Davis, Karla Hernandez, Matthew A. Davis, Sarah Neff, Zoe Moore, Zoily Mercado, W. Michael Sayers
This project was led by Samuel Wheeler (Research Programmer) and Brooke Kong (User Experience Designer). Authorship should be cited as: Wheeler, S., Kong, B., Pieper, K., & Smith, S.L. (2023). The Inclusion List.® Annenberg Inclusion Initiative. Los Angeles, CA.
Last year, we measured the top films, producers, and distributors driving inclusive entertainment from analyzing films released from 2019-2022.