Maggie Gyllenhaal Claps Back at Venice Film Fest’s Sexist Claim About Male Filmmakers!

“It has finally become clear that men make better films than women…” Maggie Gyllenhaal, with a gentle and smiling voice, playfully raised a topic that has been much discussed at the just-started Venice Film Festival… What topic? The near absence of female directors in competition! Out of 21 selected films, only one is directed by a woman. This is Woman Unknown by Danish director May El-Toukhy. Also worth mentioning is NAZA, the only official competition documentary, co-directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor.

“It’s a systemic problem”

“There’s clearly a systemic problem. I truly believe it’s much harder for women to get funding for their films“, she continued, at the press conference, alongside Alberto Barbera, the artistic director of the festival.

“And then, why aren’t the topics that women want to make films about, considering they experience the world differently than men, taken as seriously? Who decides what’s good? Who decides what has value?” She added: “This question, I pose it, and it is legitimate.“

For the record, Alberto Barbera had defended the festival’s selections in July, stating that less than a quarter of the films submitted to the selection committee were directed by women and that “the quality of those we saw was not such that we could put them in competition“.

Maggie Gyllenhaal also emphasized the significance of her role as the President of the jury. “I think (asking me) to preside over the main competition jury after the two particular films I’ve directed, is also something very important to consider“.

Maggie Gyllenhaal also spoke on the inherently political nature of cinema during the press conference. “Films are fundamentally, inevitably political. One might wonder: how can we be here talking about cinema when the world is in a state of emergency? For me, the answer is tied to empathy. A film opens the possibility of finding empathy within ourselves.“

The Venice Film Festival runs until September 12.