The actress and director Expresses Fury Over The Film Industry's Backsliding for Women
Kristen Stewart has declared she is “furious” that advancements for female directors in the film industry have reversed after a brief period of positive change following the MeToo movement.
Stewart, who helmed the upcoming film The Chronology of Water, gave an emotional address at a women’s luncheon in LA organized by the Academy behind the awards.
“The backsliding from a brief moment of advancement is alarming by the numbers,” she told the audience. “Such a pitiful number of films from the past year have been directed by female filmmakers.”
An annual report that tracks the numbers of women directors revealed that eleven of the highest-grossing films of 2024 were helmed by female directors, down from sixteen in the year 2020.
‘Boys’ Club Business Model’
During her speech, Stewart said: “After the MeToo movement, it seemed possible that narratives created by and for females were finally getting their due. That we might be allowed or even supported to express ourselves and our shared experiences, every aspect of our lives without filter.
“But I can now attest to the bare-knuckle brawling that it requires at each stage when the content is too dark, too taboo, when the frankness with which it presents insights about experiences commonly faced by females, frequently provokes aversion and dismissal.”
She continued: “We can talk about pay disparities and menstrual product taxes and quantify the imbalance in lots of quantifiable ways. But the violence of silencing, it’s like we’re not even supposed to be angry. But I can eat this podium with a fork and [expletive] knife. I’m furious.”
Attendees listening to Stewart’s address included several prominent actresses.
Stewart was met with several rounds of applause during the duration of her brief talk.
“I am thankful to you,” she said. “I do not thank a male-centric industry framework that claims to desire to hang out with us while siphoning our resources and diminishing our genuine viewpoints. We must avoid being used as tokens. It’s time to create our own value.”
New films from a few women filmmakers are in the running for the next Academy Awards, but the best director category is once again expected to be male in majority.
