Female engine drivers

Gender Equality

Summary

The second installation at the Railway Museum is dedicated to gender equality. The installation itself is a five-minute-long documentary film telling the story of two Hungarian female engine drivers.

The installation’s theme has a relevant connection to the Museo Mundial Project and to the profile of the Hungarian Railway Museum. There is still plenty to do before gender equality is achieved globally. Therefore, through the use of this documentary, we aim to raise our visitors’ awareness on the topic and draw their attention to the problem in the so-called developing world

Details

The installation is in the form of a television set, located in the hall of our main building, showing a documentary. This documentary with English subtitles can be watched here.
The main reason for choosing this method to introduce this topic was that the museum did not yet have a film among among its exhibits. The film is a way for us to convey the greatest amount of information in the shortest possible time.
The documentary highlights two international examples where women are working as engine drivers (Malaysia and Dubai).
We are pleased to announce to our visitors the fact that the history of engine driving arrived at a new station in 2012 when the Hungarian Railway Company launched an engine driver course for women.
The topic of the short documentary is related to Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 3 ("Promote gender equality and empower women"). In addition, we consider it very important to raise awareness on MDG 2 ("Achieve universal primary education"), especially for children in those areas where gender equality has not been achieved.

Budget + resources

Budget needed:

Music for the film	16 €
Film production	1155 €
Fuel	60 €
Train ticket	4 €
Transcription and royalty	300 €
Total	1535 €

How to do it step by step

1st Step:

Choosing the topic and an installation that fits it

In the case of this installation, it was easy to find a topic that fits the Millennium Development Goals and the profile of the Hungarian Railway Museum. So, we decided to introduce those women who had recently passed the locomotive driver’s test and who were the first in Hungary to choose a career that was hitherto only for men. The best option was to present them in a short film. The film can be watched in the museum’s lobby.

***2nd* *Step:***

Contacting partners

A driver training course for women started at MÁV-Start Zrt. (Hungarian State Railways), a first in Hungary. This gave us the idea of linking this development to the issue of gender equality, by creating the next Museo Mundial Project installation. We asked the ladies who already work as train drivers to take part in the short film. They gladly agreed.

***3rd* *Step:***

Preparing the plan

We planned the film’s content. In addition to the Hungarian female train drivers, we really wanted to mention other positive examples from around the world, as well as the fact that in some parts of the world women do not even have the opportunity to study let alone pursue careers traditionally reserved for men. To obtain more detailed information, we also talked to the manager of the driver training course at MÁV-Start Zrt. (Hungarian State Railways).

4th Step:

Involving the filmmakers

After obtaining quotes, we selected a professional film crew to shoot and edit the film and carry out post-production work, all at very affordable prices.

5th Step:

Preparing the final script

First of all we edited the screenplay. Then we collected archive photos of African and Asian women and wrote the narration script.

6th Step:

Scheduling the shooting

One of the most difficult tasks was scheduling the shooting. Since all the film’s actors have full-time jobs, it was hard to find a day when they were all available for shooting.

7th Step:

Shooting the film and post-production

After the shoot, the film had to be edited and undergo post-production. The narration, the sound and subtitles were also added.

8th Step:

Film release and screening in the museum

The film is continuously screened in the lobby of the museum on a television set, with the help of a USB flash drive. In addition, we uploaded the film to the museum’s website and to YouTube

Evaluation

Ups & Downs

Ups

The film brings variety to the overall exhibition, since it is the only film being shown. This installation hardly takes up any space and it is located at one of the busiest points in the Railway Museum, the museum’s main lobby, where all visitors can see it.

Downs

It was quite difficult to schedule the shooting because the actors work full-time and commute long distances every day.

Lessons learned

We had no experience of filmmaking beforehand, so we were very happy to find a professional film crew to make the film. This ensured that the project was implemented successfully.