SF Studios supports diversity tech startup to launch “IMDb for equality”

17 May 2021

The Stockholm based tech startup Ceretai develops AI tools for automated diversity and equality analysis of audiovisual content. They are now launching ValueCine, a web platform that delivers diversity statistics on film and TV series to audiences globally. The initiative is supported by SF Studios, Women in Film and Television International (WIFTI) and Herflix.

Ceretai was founded in 2018 with the idea of enabling audiences to find entertainment that matches their values. Already in 2019, they were featured in Forbes and BBC when their AI algorithm for detecting male and female voices revealed that female speaking time in the popular Game of Thrones series only amounted to 25%. Since then, the company has developed more AI algorithms to analyze e.g. screen presence of women and men, age distribution, and the so-called “smile factor” - how much more women smile than men on screen.

“After analyzing thousands of movies, video clips, news shows and TV series over the past two years, it feels so good to finally release this platform that we have been thinking about for so long,” says Ceretai’s CEO Matilda Kong. “The interest in our algorithms and in the platform illustrates clearly how important audiences find these topics, and how we need to become aware of unconscious bias in the media and entertainment we consume.”

ValueCine gives audiences all the regular information about films that can be found on for example IMDb, such as a plot summary, genre, and release year. In addition to this, audiences can also get exact numbers of how much women speak in comparison to men and browse through categories such as “films passing the Bechdel-Wallace test” or “movies with women over 45 in leading roles”. The launch of ValueCine also means introducing three different labels for films that break norms; more specifically gender norms, age norms, and ethnicity norms.

Thanks to a collaboration with streaming aggregation service Playpilot, the users of the platform can also be directed to where they can immediately stream the movie or TV series they have found on ValueCine.

The initiative is supported by SF Studios that is actively supporting various diversity initiatives in the entertainment industry.

“We are very proud to support the important work of Ceretai and ValueCine,” says Kristina Linglöf, EVP HR & Operations at SF Studios. “Equality and diversity have been on top of our agenda for a long time - we have for example been active in supporting the Swedish #metoo movement #silenceaction in various activities to infuse inspiration for continued change within the film and TV industry. The collaboration with Ceretai is very exciting as their work will facilitate and contribute to improved diversity awareness amongst consumers”.

Other supporters of the initiative are Women in Film and Television International (WIFTI), the premiere professional organization for women filmmakers worldwide, and Herflix, the new online movie theater for women, which is implementing ValueCine’s norm-breaking labels on their own streaming platform Herflix.com.

The project with Ceretai, SF Studios, Herflix and WIFTI is supported by Vinnova, read more here: https://www.vinnova.se/en/p/ai-solutions-for-identifying-and-promoting-norm-critique-in-swedish-and-international-movies/

For more information, please contact: 
Matilda Kong, CEO, Ceretai, +46 707351532,
matilda@ceretai.com
Kristina Linglöf, EVP HR & Operations, SF Studios, +46 703052227,
kristina.linglof@sfstudios.se

About Ceretai
Ceretai develops machine learning tools for diversity and equality analysis in the media and entertainment industries. The company offers a software-as-a-service solution, the Diversity Dashboard, to give media and entertainment companies insights and actionable measures for improved diversity in their produced content. They also offer solutions for diversity reporting and workshops for media executives. Link to ValueCine: www.valuecine.com.

About SF Studios
SF Studios, established in 1919, is one of the world’s oldest film companies. Today SF Studios is the leading film studio in the Nordic region with its headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden and offices in Oslo, Copenhagen, Helsinki and London. The company is producing and distributing feature films and TV series as well as providing the streaming service SF Anytime. SF Studios is part of the leading Nordic media company Bonnier.