WHAT: A scorcher of a speech about the way women were portrayed at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, and how it’s reflective of the limited number of female filmmakers involved.
WHO: Cannes juror and movie star, Jessica Chastain.
https://twitter.com/ava/status/869334438680829952
WHY WE CARE: Don’t be fooled by the fact that Sofia Coppola took home a Best Director trophy at this year’s Cannes Festival for her forthcoming film, The Beguiled. According to Jessica Chastain, this honor was an anomaly amid a festival lacking in female representation. The actor, who served on the jury at this year’s festival, sounded off during the closing press conference on the cognitive dissonance she’d just experienced.
“I do hope that when we include more female storytellers, we will have more of the women I recognize in my day-to-day life,” she said. “Ones who are proactive, have their own agency, don’t just react to the men around them. They have their own point of view.”
Chastain’s comments are in sync with a report released in January, which revealed that female filmmakers lost ground in 2016. The fact that she voiced her concerns to her fellow jurors at the world’s most prestigious film festival ensures the message will not go unheard. Whether or not it’s acted upon, however, only time will tell.
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