The actress and director Voices Anger Over Hollywood's Backsliding for Female Professionals
The renowned actress and filmmaker has declared she is “so angry” that advancements for women in Hollywood have reversed after a short-lived surge of improvement post the #MeToo era.
Stewart, who helmed the forthcoming film The Chronology of Water, gave an emotional speech at a female-focused event in LA organized by the Academy behind the awards.
“The regression from a brief moment of advancement is statistically devastating,” she told the audience. “Such a pitiful number of films from the past year have been directed by female filmmakers.”
An annual report that tracks the numbers of female filmmakers revealed that eleven of the highest-grossing films of 2024 were directed by women, a decrease from 16 in 2020.
‘Boys’ Club Business Model’
In her address, Stewart remarked: “After the MeToo movement, it appeared likely that narratives made by and for women were at last receiving recognition. That we might be allowed or even supported to share our views and our common stories, every aspect of our lives unfiltered.
“However, I can confirm to the bare-knuckle brawling that it requires at each stage when the content is too grim, too controversial, when the frankness with which it presents insights about experiences commonly faced by females, frequently provokes aversion and dismissal.”
She continued: “We can discuss pay disparities and menstrual product taxes and measure [inequality] in many measurable forms. But the violence of silencing, it’s like we’re not even supposed to be angry. But I can eat this podium with a fork and [expletive] knife. I’m so angry.”
Attendees listening to Stewart’s speech featured a number of well-known female stars.
Stewart was met with several rounds of applause over the course of her brief talk.
“I appreciate you,” she said. “I do not thank a male-centric industry framework that pretends to want to hang out with us while siphoning our resources and diminishing our genuine viewpoints. We must avoid being used as tokens. Let’s start printing our own currency.”
Upcoming projects from a few women filmmakers are in the running for the forthcoming Oscars race, but the top directing award is once again expected to be male in majority.
