When the lineup for the Venice Film Festival was announced, one of the biggest sources of controversy wasn’t which films were selected, but rather what was missing. As we reported at the time, Venice festival director Alberto Barbera became the source of controversy when only one film by a female was chosen out of the 21 total films in the official competition program. At the time, Barbera was defiant and blamed the industry, not the festival.
And according to Variety, Barbera might have to change his tune, slightly. The report says that festival will join Cannes, Locarno, and Sarajevo, as the latest film to sign a protocol on gender parity that was introduced by the French organization 5050×2020. While there are no mandates in the protocol, the new document pledges that Venice officials will be transparent with the members of the selection and programming committees, will provide statistics on the films submitted, and will work towards equal gender ration in the organization’s top management.
However, unlike the document signed by Cannes, Locarno, and Sarajevo, Venice is remaining defiant in the sense that they claim the festival already is working towards this goal. The pledge states that Venice “will continue to” practice the policies that are included in the protocol. This falls in line with what Barbera said weeks ago that passed the blame for the obvious gender disparity onto the studios, producers, and the film industry as a whole.
READ MORE: Venice Film Festival Preview: 20 Most Anticipated Movies
As mentioned, this year’s Venice Official Competition has only one female entry, which is Jennifer Kent, the director of the acclaimed horror film “The Babadook,” and her latest film “The Nightingale.” Previously, Barbera had claimed that the committees had watched 1,500 film entries, with a third of them coming from female directors. However, only 1 of the 21 Official Competition selections was from a female filmmaker, which is what drew the backlash.
The Venice Film Festival has kicked off already, and we’ll have the latest reviews from the competition throughout the week.