No female directors at the Cannes film festival: just a coincidence?
Why is there only one woman who won the Palme d’Or in the entire history of the Cannes film festival? Is it because men are simply ‘better’ in making movies? Probably not. So what could be the reason? Due to an open letter written by a group of French female filmmakers commenting the fact that there was no woman among the 22 nominees for this year’s award, this question is now being discussed in public. In their letter, the filmmakers condemn the sexual stereotyping of women in the movie industry, stating that ‘Men love their women to have depth, but only when it comes to their cleavages’. But isn’t it too simple to blame the committee in Cannes for the – in fact fairly stereotyping – image of women in the film industry in general? After all, there was also only one woman who won the Academy Award and last year at least four women were nominated in Cannes. Besides, the jury of the Palme d’Or award is not at all a men-only-group. On the contrary, there is a good gender balance with four female judges. The letter itself therefore has stretched the topic quite to the limit, but the key statement, however, is certainly valid: The role and reputation of female directors could and probably should be increased. Just like in every other industry, calls for positive discrimination of women or quotas will not change the stereotypes in the heads of those people who decide on the success of the women.
