Variety has announced their selections for the 20th anniversary of the 10 Directors to Watch series, and sadly only two of their eleven choices are women. (While the list is 10 Directors to Watch, 11 names actually appear on it, as one of Variety’s choices is a directing duo.)
Variety calls the series a “talent-spotlighting effort” and boasts that the series has spotted then-unknown directors before they were household names, but this year’s crop aren’t exactly a bastion of gender equality.
The two women on the list are Maren Ade (“Toni Erdmann”) and Julia Ducournau (“Raw”). Ade and Ducournau certainly deserve the praise. “Toni Erdmann” has received honors at film festivals throughout the world, including the FIPRESCI Grand Prix. “Raw” has also earned a fair share of accolades, including the FIPRESCI Prize for the Director’s Fortnight/Critics’ Week section.
But both directors are extremely vocal about the need for taking action to increase the number of women directing feature films. Ade has even called for a quota that 50 percent of directors at festivals should be women, saying, “There are not enough women directing films. In Germany, we have this discussion now about a quota system as well, and I think we should try it, because concerning the public money, it should be equal. If someone told me in film school that it might be necessary to have a quota system, I would have thought he is crazy as there were almost half women, half men in the production as well as in the directing class,” she explained. “But I think it should be tried out and checked again after 10 years. And still I think the system has to be oriented on the actual amount of women handing in projects.”
Back at the Cannes FIlm Festival, Ducournau told Women and Hollywood, “I feel it’s still harder to make a movie when you’re a woman. People tend to blame the selection committees because women are underrepresented in festivals. I think the problem is much wider, actually.” She added, “I do believe that producers not giving as much credit to women bearing a project as they would for men is still a reality, unfortunately. Not to mention if you’re a pregnant woman, God forbid! What to do to see some changes? Talking about it helps, and not being afraid of being outraged when it’s legitimate.”
As Variety details, their “10 to Watch series spotlights emerging writers, actors, producers, directors, comics, and cinematographers. The honorees are selected by a team of Variety editors, critics, and reporters.” But there’s something definitely wrong when only two of the 11 directors chosen to appear on the list — 18 percent — are women. Try harder, Variety. You can do better.
