Venice Film Festival Accused of Sexism

The leadership of the Venice Film Festival has come under intense scrutiny for failing to achieve gender parity in this year’s competition lineup. A formal open letter addressed to the festival’s artistic director, Alberto Barbera, was published in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

Drafted by several prominent Italian and European film organizations, the letter condemns the selection as “one-dimensional” and “overwhelmingly male-dominated.” Out of 20 entries in the main competition, only one—A Woman Unknown by Danish filmmaker May el-Toukhy—was directed by a woman. The only Italian women included in the official selection are Alina Marazzi and Anna Foglietta, whose film Girl with a Leica appears in the Orizzonti section.

Following the announcement of the lineup last week, Barbera argued that the selection committee judges films solely on merit, asserting that the quality of submissions from female directors remains disappointingly low. He further emphasized that imposing gender quotas would not resolve the issue, noting that the selection committee has no influence over the broader industry production landscape.

It is deeply disappointing, yet we should not be accused of bias,

Barbera remarked. In response, the authors of the open letter have demanded that the world’s oldest film festival reform its evaluation criteria, pointing out that women consistently outnumber men in contemporary film schools.

…a world governed by men is terrifying. It is deeply concerning that this festival continues to view our world exclusively through a masculine lens,

the letter stated. The 83rd Venice Film Festival is scheduled to take place from September 2 to 12. The competition slate features upcoming works from Martin McDonagh (Wild Horse), Werner Herzog (The Fucking Bastard), and Danny Boyle (the opening film, Ink). This year’s jury will be presided over by Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Bride).

Source: Film.ru