Cannes’ female-free directors line-up criticized

He stresses that female directors are not entirely absent from the festival, which runs Wednesday to May 27. The secondary competition, Un Certain Regard, features two, both French: Sylvie Verheyde (“Confession of a Child of the Century”) and Catherine Corsini (“Three Worlds”). There are also four women on the nine-member festival jury.

“If we really want to solve the problem it’s not here, and not in accusing Cannes. It is in asking the same question in January, everywhere in the world and every month,” he said.

Kate Kinninmont, chief executive of industry group Women in Film and Television, agreed that criticizing Cannes, or imposing quotas, would not solve the problem.

“I think it’s a big cultural thing that’s going to take a long time,” she said. “We’ve got a lot of very talented women making shorts. They will be the next generation that will start to change the balance.

“It’s only going to be done by the strength and confidence of women going forward.”

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Associated Press Writer Hilary Fox contributed to this report.

Jill Lawless can be reached at http://twitter.com/JillLawless

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