French filmmaker Jacques Audiard is speaking out on behalf of his female peers. Rather than standing idly by as women fight for better representation at fests, the director is using his voice to add to the chorus of rallying cries. The Palme d’Or-winning director’s latest pic, Western “The Sisters Brothers,” just made its world premiere at Venice. But Audiard isn’t shying away from making his feelings about the fest crystal clear.

“When I saw that the competition had 20 films and only one directed by women, I wrote a message to my peers working on the selection, and the reaction was not fantastic,” said Audiard, according to Variety.

He explained, “My idea is not to put the president of this festival and the Biennale on trial… but the answer I got – ‘we’re doing our job honestly; we don’t care if the film is directed by a man or a woman’ – proves that we’re not asking ourselves the right question,” he emphasized. “The right question is ‘Do festivals have a gender?’ And the answer is yes. I’ve been attending festivals for 25 years with my films and don’t see women. I often see the same men, though. And that’s not OK.”

Audiard is part of 50/50 for 2020, the movement behind the pledge for gender equality that’s been signed by Cannes, Locarno, and Venice. Toronto will sign later this week.

“Equality can be quantified in numbers, and justice has to be applied,” Audiard said. He interrupted those who reacted to his statement by saying, “No, we don’t applaud. We act.”

Women made up at least half of the crew of “The Sisters Brothers,” which is also set to screen at TIFF. Audiard’s other credits include “Dheepan,” “Rust and Bone,” and “A Prophet.”