Maggie Gyllenhaal addresses the lack of female directors at the Venice Film Festival

The 83rd Venice Film Festival has officially kicked off in Italy. During the opening press conference, jury president Maggie Gyllenhaal addressed the ongoing lack of gender parity within the festival’s main competition.

Festival organizers have faced intense backlash for the selection, which features only one film directed solely by a woman among its 21 entries: Danish filmmaker May el-Toukhy’s drama “The Unknown Woman.” A last-minute addition to the program included the documentary “Naza,” co-directed by Israeli filmmaker Rachel Shore.

“This is a systemic issue. Women face far greater hurdles when seeking funding for their work. <…> Is it possible that women, drawing from distinct life experiences, are drawn to narratives that aren’t traditionally labeled as ‘high art’? Who gets to determine what has merit or value?”

— Gyllenhaal remarked. She also emphasized the significance of appointing a female director to lead this year’s international jury.

Joining Gyllenhaal on the jury panel are directors Kaouther Ben Hania (whose film “The Voice of Hind Rajab” received a special jury prize at last year’s festival), Shahrbanoo Sadat, and Xavier Giannoli, along with composer Daniel Blumberg (“The Brutalist”) and Yale professor Francesco Casetti.

None of the other jurors accompanied Gyllenhaal at the press conference, which remained uncertain until the final hours. International journalists suggested that the festival leadership may have intentionally limited the event to avoid uncomfortable questions regarding their political stance.

When pressed on whether cinema should inherently be political, Gyllenhaal argued that all filmmaking is inevitably intertwined with politics.

“We could ask ourselves a different question: how can we even discuss films when the world is in such a state of emergency? For me, the answer lies in empathy. Cinema provides a unique vessel for us to cultivate empathy within ourselves,”

— she concluded.

The Venice Film Festival will run through September 12.

Photo: Getty

Source: Film.ru