Nicole urges backing for female directors
OSCAR-winning Moulin Rouge actress Nicole Kidman has pleaded with women to support female directors after less than 4% of women directed movies in 2016.
The 49-year-old actress is currently starring in The Beguiled, a cinematic adaptation of Thomas P Cullinan’s 1966 novel co-starring Elle Fanning, Kirsten Dunst and Colin Farrell.
But despite being a female-centric movie directed by Sofia Coppola, Nicole insists it’s still disappointing that female film-makers remain in the minority.
Speaking at a press conference to promote the movie at the Cannes Film Festival this week, she said: “Still only about 4% of women directed the major motion pictures of 2016.
“That there says it all. I think that’s an important thing to say and keep saying.
“Luckily, we had Jane Campion and Sofia here.
“We as women have to sup- port female directors, that’s a given now.
“Everyone is saying it’s so different now – but it isn’t. Listen to the statistics.”
The Beguiled follows a group of women at an all-girls boarding school during the Civil War era who are interrupted by the arrival of a wounded Union soldier.
As the only male in the film, Farrell said: “I grew up with three brilliant and strong women in my life, my mother and my sisters.
“Sofia set a very particular mood in the working environment that was one of comfort and ease and trust…
“I’ve been doing this for 20 years and I think this was my favourite experience and my favourite shoot.”
New Zealand film-maker Campion, who directed 1993 Oscar-winning drama The Piano, is the only woman who has ever won the Cannes Film Festival’s top accolade, the Palme d’Or prize. – Bang Showbiz