Cannes Film Festival 2021: few women directors in running for Palme d’Or, the top prize – it’s embarrassing, critic says

Of the 24 films in competition for the prestigious Palme d’Or at this year’s festival, only four are directed by women

Cannes organisers insist they choose films on merit, taking no account of race, gender or nationality

Reading Time:2 minutes

Jane Campion, who remains the only woman to have won the Palme d’Or at Cannes. Just four of the films in competition for the top prize this year are directed by women. Photo: AFP

Published: 8:15pm, 6 Jul 2021Updated: 8:15pm, 6 Jul 2021

With just four films directed by women among the 24 in competition for the Palme d’Or, a familiar script is playing out at the Cannes Film Festival.

Only one woman has ever won the Palme d’Or, the film industry’s most prestigious prize – Jane Campion for The Piano in 1993.

Debates over whether to blame the festival’s selection committee, or the wider film industry, have become as routine as sunshine and champagne on the Promenade de la Croisette.

The debate reached new heights in 2018. With the #MeToo movement in full swing, 82 women held a protest on the steps of the Palais in Cannes, France, including Jane Fonda, Marion Cotillard and Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins.

The jury of the 74th Cannes Film Festival comprises Spike Lee, Mélanie Laurent, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Mylène Farmer, Jessica Hausner, Tahar Rahim, Kleber Mendonca Filho, Song Kang-ho and Mati Diop. Photo: AFP

This year’s edition can at least boast a more balanced list when the other sections of the festival are included, with some 40 women presenting films this year.

Cannes Film Festival 2021: few women directors in running for Palme d’Or, the top prize – it’s embarrassing, critic says

Of the 24 films in competition for the prestigious Palme d’Or at this year’s festival, only four are directed by women Cannes organisers insist they choose films on merit, taking no account of race, gender or nationality

Of the 24 films in competition for the prestigious Palme d’Or at this year’s festival, only four are directed by women

Cannes organisers insist they choose films on merit, taking no account of race, gender or nationality