Hollywood actress Jessica Chastain found the portrayal of women in movies competing at the Cannes Film Festival as “disturbing”.
Chastain served as a member of the jury during the 70th annual Film Festival alongside Hollywood actor Will Smith and jury president Pedro Almodovar.
The jury’s job was to watch movies in the official competition and decide which would win the coveted award for best fit. At the closing press conference of the festival, Jessica admitted that she was not impressed with how women were being portrayed in the film she saw. Moreover, Jessica argued that the industry needs more female storytellers to create more authentic female characters.
“This is the first time I’ve watched 20 films in 10 days, and I love movies and the one thing I really took away from this experience is how the world views women from the female characters I saw represented and it was quite disturbing to me, to be honest,” she said.
Say that, @jes_chastain. pic.twitter.com/H7QHnEE5JA
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) May 29, 2017
She explained that there are a few exceptions.
“I do hope that when we include more female storytellers, we will have more of the women that I recognize in my day-to-day life,” she continued. “Ones that are proactive, that have their own agencies, don’t just react to the men around them. They have their own point-of-view.”
The 70th Cannes Film Festival ended on Sunday when Sofia Coppola was named the Best Director for the movie The Beguiled. She has become the second woman to win the award since 1961.
What do you think? Discuss this story with fellow Project Casting fans on Facebook. On Twitter, follow us at @projectcasting.
