Venice's Gyllenhaal says women directors face 'systemic' barriers
VENICE: Venice Film Festival jury president Maggie Gyllenhaal said on Wednesday that cinema was inherently political and that women continue to face systemic obstacles in the film industry, questioning who gets to decide which stories matter. Speaking on the festival’s opening day, Gyllenhaal said films foster empathy at a time of global turmoil and argued that female filmmakers often struggle to…
Venice Film Festival jury president Maggie Gyllenhaal argued on the festival's opening day that women directors continue to face systemic barriers in the film industry. Gyllenhaal, who began her career as an actor before becoming a director with "The Lost Daughter" in 2021, said cinema holds inherent political value and that female filmmakers often struggle to secure financing because their stories are not deemed important.
She questioned why the stories women want to tell are frequently overlooked. Only two of the 21 films in the festival's main program, which runs from September 2-12, are directed or co-directed by women. Despite criticism from festival president Alberto Barbera over the lineup's lack of diversity, Gyllenhaal insisted that films can never be separated from politics and that movies should honestly depict people's lives, including those of "the most corrupt, the most perverse people," as they can foster empathy and prompt reflection on darker aspects of humanity.
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