Gyllenhaal Raises Concerns Over Gender Imbalance
Maggie Gyllenhaal, president of the jury at the 83rd Venice Film Festival, used the opening press conference on Wednesday to question why only two of the 21 films vying for the Golden Lion were directed or co-directed by women. Speaking alongside festival director Alberto Barbera, Gyllenhaal said, "There's a systemic problem."
"I do think it's much harder for women to get their films financed," she told reporters. She went on to question whether the stories women want to tell are afforded the same literary status as those of their male counterparts. "Could it be possible that the things that women, having had a different experience of being alive in the world, want to make movies about are not always deemed high art?" she asked. "Who decides what's good? Who decides what's valuable? That's also a question I have, and it's a legitimate one."
Gyllenhaal, an American actress turned director, noted her own appointment as jury head was itself significant. "I really am walking in with a question as to why there's so few women in the main competition as filmmakers this year," she said. "But I think asking me to be the head of the main jury competition after the two films that I have made is a very important thing to consider too."
The opening press conference also touched on the political nature of cinema. Gyllenhaal said filmmakers and spectators needed to be open to all types of filmmakers and stories, adding that films are "fundamentally, unavoidably political."
The Competition Line-Up
Danish-Egyptian filmmaker May El-Toukhy's "Woman Unknown" was initially the only film by a woman director among the 20 titles selected for the main competition. The later addition of "NAZA," co-directed by Oscar-winning Israeli filmmaker Rachel Szor, brought the total to two. "NAZA" focuses on Israel's targeting of civilians in Gaza.
Gyllenhaal is joined on the jury by Tunisian director and screenwriter Kaouther Ben Hania, English composer and artist Daniel Blumberg, Italian professor Francesco Casetti, French director and screenwriter Xavier Giannoli, Afghan director and screenwriter Shahrbanoo Sadat, and Hong Kong director and producer Johnnie To.
Barbera Defends Selection Process
Festival director Alberto Barbera defended the selection process, saying it was carried out "without prejudice." He noted that 24% of submissions this year came from women, down from 30% last year.
At a press conference in July to announce the selections, Barbera had said the quality of submissions from women directors "was not enough to put them into the competition," comments that prompted criticism from campaign and industry groups in Italy.
Gyllenhaal made her directing debut with "The Lost Daughter" in 2021, which premiered at Venice. The festival runs until 12 September.