“The world will never be the same again, the Cannes Film Festival will never be the same again,” said Cannes Artistic Director Thierry Fremaux of a post Harvey Weinstein world. The fest just announced their 2018 lineup, and Cannes doesn’t seem to have gotten the #TimesUp memo. Of 18 films announced in the main Competition this year, just three are women-directed.

Fremaux has a lot to say about how Cannes is changing, but shouldn’t these changes be self-evident? Why do we continue to hear defensiveness instead of actual change?

“We will discuss our own practices with the festival team,” he said, adding that more women are now working for the event. “We will discuss equality of salary, we want to question our own process about the parity of the juries,” he said.

But what about the actual films the internationally renowned fest is screening?

When asked about the lack of women in the lineup, Fremaux suggested it was the result of the fest having to select films based on what was submitted. But he claims the fest received 1,900 entries. How do so many other fests — including Tribeca, which is just about to kick off — manage to include so many more female-helmed films? We’re not buying the excuse that women directed films don’t get submitted to the fest. It’s also worth considering whether Cannes’ consistent exclusion and treatment of women directors has deterred some of them from submitting.

Fremaux emphasized that there are “three female movie-makers in competition” — out of eighteen! — and said that there “may be four” following late additions to the program. Here’s some basic math to paint a picture. As the program currently stands, under 17 percent of the filmmakers competing for the fest’s most prestigious prize, The Palme d’Or, are women. That is not something to celebrate. And remember — Jane Campion is the only female filmmaker who has won the prize in the history of the festival.

Check out how many female filmmakers have screened in Competition over the past 10 years:

2008: 2/22

2009: 3/20

2010: 0/19

2011: 4/20

2012: 0/22

2013: 1/20

2014: 2/18

2015: 2/19

2016: 3/21

2017: 3/19

2018: 3/18

Total: 23/218 = 10.6 percent

“There will never be a selection with positive discrimination,” Fremaux said regarding the future of the fest and the lack of women-directed films screening in Competition. But clearly tons of unconscious bias, sexism, cronyism, and many other variables are allowed. He claimed the films selected to screen were “chosen for their own intrinsic qualities.” I’m unconvinced.

I’m often asked why I focus so much on Cannes. One reason is because it is so visible — it’s truly one of the most prominent media events in the world. It’s also a major launching pad for many directors. For better or worse, if you get in the Competition at Cannes, you are elevated. It matters. So when women are missing, it means that women’s voices and visions are not taken seriously. It means that Cannes is not doing a good enough job to find the women. I resent all the talk about not being interested in doing “positive discrimination.” This is about inclusion.

And while we are at, it let’s talk about how, while Cannes is not inclusive in terms of female directors, it is a place that traffics in women’s bodies. We have seen all the revelations that have come about about how Weinstein used Cannes for his predation. He’s gone, but it still remains to be seen if the attitude towards women changes. Cannes is a place where actresses are pressured to attend parties on rich men’s yachts. It’s a place where oligarchs come to throw their money around.

“This is the first time I watched 20 films in 10 days, and what I really took away from this experience is how the world views women,” juror Jessica Chastain said at Cannes last year. “It was quite disturbing to me, to be honest. There were quite some exceptions. I was surprised by the representation of female characters on film.” She also offered a solution: “I think if we include more female storytellers, I hope we have more women that I see in my own day-to-day life. They just don’t react to the men around them. They have their own point-of-view,” she explained. Cannes seems unable to listen to advice, adapt, or evolve.

The fest’s Un Certain Regard program features 15 films, seven of which are directed or co-directed by women. This is a great ratio. But the message being sent is that women directors can make it into Un Certain Regard, but still can’t get into the main Competition in large numbers.

Cannes runs from May 8-May 19.

Check out the women-directed films screening in Competition and Un Certain Regard below. Titles include Alice Rohrwacher’s “Lazzaro Felice,” a drama about a man who travels through time, Nadine Labaki’s “Capernaum,” a politically-charged fable about a child who launches a lawsuit, and Eva Husson’s “Girls of the Sun,” a drama following a Kurdish female battalion.

Competition

“Capernaum” (Nadine Labaki)

“Girls of the Sun” (Eva Husson)

“Lazzaro Felice” (Alice Rohrwacher)

Un Certain Regard

“Angel Face” (Vanessa Filho)

“Euphoria” (Valeria Golino)

“Friend” (Wanuri Kahiu)

“Little Tickles” (Andréa Bescond & Eric Métayer)

“Manto” (Nandita Das)

“My Favorite Fabric” (Gaya Jiji)

“Sofia” (Meyem Benm’Barek)