#GAReads | Venice film festival: Guillermo del Toro says gender disparity is 'a real problem'
photo credit: Guillem Medina [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons
"Venice film festival: Guillermo del Toro says gender disparity is 'a real problem'":
The jury president of the Venice film festival has condemned the gender disparity in the film industry and demanded urgent reform.
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 Shape of Water 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.