Venice film fest: Guillermo del Toro slams gender disparity

Speaking on the opening day of the 75th film festival, Guillermo Del Toro said equality must be achieved by the end of the decade. Only one of the 21 films in competition this year has a female director.

Asked about the responsibility of film festivals to promote diversity, the Mexican director of Pan’s Labyrinth and the Hobbit trilogy said inclusion goals were essential. “I think the goal has to be clear and has to remain 50:50 by 2020,” said Del Toro, referring to an equality charter launched at Cannes this year .

“I think if it’s 50:50 by 2019, [it would be] better. It’s a real problem we have in the culture in general. Many of the voices that should be heard, need to be heard. I believe it’s important that it’s not a matter of establishing a quota... Precisely in this time of the conversation, it’s extremely important to call it out and to question it, and to name it and to make it known.

“I think it’s necessary because for many decades, if not centuries, [gender disparity] has not been called [out]. It’s not a controversy — it’s a real problem. It needs to be solved in every one of our pertinent departments with strength and resolve.”

Venice’s artistic director, Alberto Barbera, has come under fire for the dearth of female filmmakers in the competition lineup for the second year running. This year, only one director is female: Jennifer Kent, whose period thriller The Nightingale is her first since The Babadook in 2014. The Venice Biennale president, Paolo Baratta, confirmed that just 21 per cent of submissions were by women.

The pledge for parity and inclusion in cinema festivals has been signed by the Locarno and Cannes film festivals. It promises greater transparency in submissions, curatorial boards, and to reach equality in executive leadership as soon as possible. Venice had refused to sign the pledge, but is expected to agree to it this month.

Del Toro said he was also tackling gender disparity on a personal level. “I’m producing five movies: three of them from female directors; two of them from first time directors,” he said. “It’s beyond a gesture. It’s a need.”