The Venice Film Festival has come under fire for shutting out female directors from its competition section. In an open letter, the European Women's Audiovisual (EWA) Network said: “Female creators from around the world are demanding genuine reform. We want intersectional changes at every level of our industry. We want to create lasting differences in the spaces we occupy as female producers, directors, film selectors.”
They demanded that the fest sign a gender-parity pledge. Venice Film Festival’s main competition lineup this year features only one female director, Jennifer Kent for The Nightingale. Similarly, Angels Wear White by Chinese director Vivian Qu, was last year’s lone competition title directed by a woman.
“Every festival has the luxury and the freedom to not worry about diversity. But these festivals indicate their priorities and values. And they have valued and prioritised films made by males for as long as they have existed,” the letter said.
The EWA also lambasted Venice artistic chief Alberto Barbera's comments who said he would quit if quotas or gender-equality needs are imposed. "When Alberto Barbera threatens to quit, he is perpetuating the notion that selecting films by female filmmakers involves lowering standards. Sorry, but we don't buy this anymore. We know it has been proven that instead of preventing meritocracy, targets and quotas help to promote it by widening the pool of candidates," the letter said.
“Up until now, we have patiently waited for change. Now we must take action.”