Photo: Courtesy of Cannes Film Festival.As ever, this year's lineup for the Cannes Film Festival is chock-full of big-name, unrivaled directors, including Jean-Luc Godard, David Cronenberg, Mike Leigh, Ken Loach, and Wim Wenders. And, as ever, they are predominately men.
Roughly a third of the 49 official selections for 2014 were directed by women, including Asia Argento's Incompresa and Naomi Kawase's Futatsume No Mado. And, that's actually an increase from last year, when only 11 out of the 53 films featured female directors.
It can't be easy for the Cannes jury to balance things, though, even with The Piano director Jane Campion presiding over the committee. After all, film directing as a profession is overwhelmingly dominated by men. (Last year, researchers found there are 15.24 working male directors for every one female director.) Nor should that fact impugn the honor bestowed upon very deserving directors like Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Atom Egoyan, or the Dardenne brothers.
If anything, it's a call to action for more women to get behind the camera and share their talents. (The Guardian)