The actress and director Expresses Fury Over The Film Industry's Backsliding for Women
Kristen Stewart has declared she is “so angry” that progress for female directors in Hollywood have gone backwards after a short-lived surge of improvement following the MeToo movement.
Stewart, who helmed the upcoming film The Chronology of Water, gave an emotional speech at a female-focused event in Los Angeles hosted by the Academy behind the awards.
“The regression from a brief moment of progress is alarming by the numbers,” she informed attendees. “A disappointingly low figure of films from the previous year have been directed by female filmmakers.”
A yearly study that monitors the presence of women directors stated that 11 of the highest-grossing films of 2024 were helmed by female directors, a decrease from 16 in the year 2020.
‘Male-Dominated Industry Model’
In her address, Stewart remarked: “After the MeToo movement, it seemed possible that stories created by and for females were at last receiving recognition. That we could be permitted or even supported to express ourselves and our common stories, every aspect of our lives without filter.
“However, I can confirm to the intense struggle that it requires at each stage when the material is too dark, too controversial, when the frankness with which it serves up observations about situations routinely experienced by women, often elicits aversion and dismissal.”
She continued: “We can talk about pay disparities and taxes on tampons and measure [inequality] in lots of quantifiable ways. But the act of muting voices, it’s like we’re not allowed to feel rage. But I can eat this podium with a utensil and sharp tool. I’m furious.”
The guests hearing Stewart’s speech featured several prominent actresses.
Stewart was met with several rounds of applause during the duration of her seven-minute speech.
“I appreciate you,” she said. “I do not thank a boys’ club business model that claims to desire to associate with us while siphoning our resources and diminishing our genuine viewpoints. We must avoid being used as tokens. Let’s start printing our own currency.”
New films from several female directors are among those for the forthcoming Oscars race, but the best director category is once again expected to be dominated by men.
