From Variety · Ellise Shafer · · 1m 20s
Venice's Golden Lion went to the only woman
Maggie Gyllenhaal opened her Venice jury term calling out the gender gap, then batted away the idea her verdict was a statement.
In brief
Maggie Gyllenhaal opened her Venice jury term calling out the gender gap, then batted away the idea her verdict was a statement. Gyllenhaal insists the jury picked the film on its own force, not on who made it. Originally reported by Variety.
She started by calling it out
Gyllenhaal began her term as Venice jury president by naming the shortage of women filmmakers competing for the Golden Lion.
The prize went to a woman
On Saturday night the jury handed the Golden Lion to May el-Toukhy's "Woman Unknown," the only film in competition solely directed by a woman.
A journalist smelled a message
At the post-ceremony press conference, a reporter asked whether the choice amounted to a political statement about gender in the competition.
Gyllenhaal deadpanned back
She mocked the premise rather than defending against it, pretending the jury had never watched the winner at all.
“I actually didn't see 'Woman Unknown.' I just was like, 'It's made by a woman and so, Golden Lion!'”
The film cut through
Her real answer was about the work itself. The jury described the film as focused and unswerving, like a laser beam.
“Was like a laser beam”
Two truths at once
Pointing at a thin field of women directors and picking the best film in it are not the same act, and Gyllenhaal refused to let one explain away the other.
The bottom line
Gyllenhaal insists the jury picked the film on its own force, not on who made it.
