American actress and director Maggie Gyllenhaal declared at the Venice Film Festival on Wednesday that female filmmakers face a systemic barrier in securing movie financing.
Speaking at an opening press conference alongside festival artistic director Alberto Barbera, Gyllenhaal highlighted a structural inequality of opportunities for women working in the film industry. She stated that she would describe the situation as a systemic problem, adding that she sincerely believes it is far more difficult for women to obtain financing for their projects.
Gyllenhaal questioned why the stories female directors want to tell fail to receive equal support from financial backers. She asked why themes chosen by women, who experience the world differently from men, are not given equal consideration, questioning who ultimately decides what is good and what holds value.
Funding barriers for female directors
The comments come as the 83rd edition of the Venice International Film Festival opened in Italy. The annual event, held on the Lido in Venice, is the world's oldest film festival and one of the prestigious Big Three major European film festivals alongside Cannes and Berlin.
Organisers of this year's festival have faced criticism over the lack of female representation in its official competition lineup, which features only two movies directed by women. The two films selected for the main competition are Woman Unknown, directed by May el-Toukhy, and Naza, directed by Rachel Szor alongside co-director Yuval Abraham.
Criticism over competition lineup
Addressing the selection process, Barbera recalled that less than a quarter of all submissions presented to the selection committee in July were directed by women. He previously stated, as reported by Agence France-Presse, that the quality of the submitted female-directed films did not allow organizers to include more of them in the competition.
When asked at the press conference whether the chosen films leaned toward political themes, Barbera maintained that the sole requirement for inclusion remains the quality and complexity of the work. He added that many entries address current affairs because most directors possess a special sensitivity and prefer confronting dramatic real-world issues during a difficult period rather than taking refuge in fantasy worlds.
Composition of the 83rd festival jury
Gyllenhaal emphasised that no subject or filmmaker should be ignored by the industry. She also posed a rhetorical question to assembled journalists, asking how it was possible to discuss cinema at this precise moment while the world remains in a state of emergency.
As jury president, Gyllenhaal leads a panel of international filmmakers and artists responsible for awarding the festival's main prizes, including the Golden Lion. The jury for the 83rd edition includes Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania, Afghan director Shahrbanoo Sadat, British composer Daniel Blumberg, French director Xavier Giannoli, Hong Kong director Johnnie To, and Italian film scholar Francesco Casetti.
