Jessica Chastain served as a juror at the 2017 Cannes Festival and spoke candidly at the post-ceremony press conference about the depiction of women in film. Chastain remarked, “This is the first time I watched 20 films in 10 days, and the one thing I really took away from this experience is how the world views women. From the female characters that I saw represented. And it was quite disturbing to me, to be honest. There were some exceptions, I will say. But for the most part I was surprised by the representation of female characters on screen in these films.”
The comments came after Sofia Coppola won Best Director for The Beguiled, the first time a woman has won in 50 years.
She went on that she hopes to see more female storytellers so that the jury can watch women that are “proactive, have their own agency and don’t just react to the men around them.”
People agreed. Obviously.
It takes courage to speak truth to power. Thank you @jes_chastain for speaking truth and representing the voices of millions! https://t.co/WOZUxHvhE1
— America Ferrera (@AmericaFerrera) May 30, 2017
AMEN! Well said @jes_chastain. ❤️!And love to you ladies @ava & @paolamendoza 🙏🏾 https://t.co/5IuBLI6jtP
— kerry washington (@kerrywashington) May 30, 2017
.@jes_chastain 👏 – Then all the greying Frenchmen probably like "she's hungry I bet! Get her a 🥐! We have such good roles for nude women."
— Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) May 30, 2017
Personally, I don’t know what she’s talking about. There are fantastic women characters in films these days. Like Alexander Daddario in Baywatch where she runs around in a bikini or The Fate of the Furious where they allow Michelle Rodriguez — a woman! — to drive a car or Fifty Shades Darker where Dakota Johnson becomes that guy’s sex slave. Seems to me this is much ado about nothing.