Once again, films directed by women represent less than 15% of the Cannes Film Festival Selection.
We were hoping that 2017 would be the year women directors take off, but, unfortunately, there are only 3 films directed by women in the official competition: "Hikari" (Radiance) by Naomi Kawase, Lynne Ramsay's "You Were Never Really Here" and Sophia Coppola's remake of “The Beguiled”, about the same amount as last year.
These 3 directors have a steady relationship with Cannes Film Festival.
Naomi Kawase will complete her 6th participation in Cannes with HIKARI (RADIANCE).
The Japanese director is the youngest winner of the Caméra d'Or award (best new director in Cannes). She won it at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival for her first 35mm film, Suzaku.
Many of her first forays into filmmaking were autobiographical, inspired heavily by rural landscape. She originally attended the Osaka School of Photography to study television production and later became interested in film, deciding to switch her focus.
Her fourth full-length film The Mourning Forest (Mogari no Mori, 2007) went on to win the Grand Prix at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.
Her film Hanezu premiered in Competition at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.
She was selected as a member of the main competition jury at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.
Her 2014 film Still the Water (Futatsume no mado) was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or in the main competition section.
Her 2015 film Sweet Bean (An) was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. In April 2016 she was announced as the President of the Jury for the Cinéfondation and short films section of the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.
Sophia Coppola will be in Cannes for the 3rd time with "The Beguiled"
The remake of Don Siegel's 1971 classic has earned this American screenwriter, director, producer and actress her 3rd selection in Cannes with her 7th feature film.
In 2003, she received the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the comedy-drama Lost in Translation, and became the third woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director, after Lina Wertmüller and Jane Campion.
Her third film was the biopic Marie Antoinette, which debuted at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival with a mixed response.
In 2010, with the drama Somewhere, she became the first American woman (and fourth American filmmaker) to win the Golden Lion, the top prize at the Venice Film Festival
The Bling Ring (2013) opened the Un Certain Regard section of the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.
Lynne Ramsay will have her 4th screening in Cannes Film Festival with "You were never really here".
The Scottish film director, writer, producer, and cinematographer is best known for the feature films Ratcatcher, Morvern Callar and We Need to Talk about Kevin.
Lynne Ramsay's films are marked by a fascination with children and young people and the recurring themes of grief, guilt and death and its aftermath.
Ratcatcher (1999), Ramsay's debut feature, won critical acclaim and numerous awards. It was screened at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival
Morvern Callar (2002) was featured in the Directors Fortnight for the Cannes Film Festival 2002, winning the Award of The Youth at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, also winning the 2002 C.I.C.A.E. Award.
We Need to Talk about Kevin (2011) is Ramsay's most recent feature-length film in which she wrote, produced and directed. It premiered in 2011, and was greatly acclaimed at the Cannes Film Festival.
Agnes Varda's "Visages, villages" will be screened outside of the competition. The film is co-directed with JR.
The Un Certain Regard category fared a bit better: Five of the 16 films screenings (31%) are helmed by women but the overall percentage including out-of-competition screenings does not go beyond 15%.
"La Novia Del Desierto" (The Desert Bride) by the Argentinian Cecilia Atan and Valeria Pivato.
"Aala Kaf Ifrit" (Beauty and the Dogs) directed by the Tunisian and Paris based Kaouther Ben Hania.
Valeska Grisebach's "Western", from Germany.
"Jeune Femme" directed by Léonor Serraille and,
Annarita Zambrano's film, "Après la Guerre" (After the War).
The Special screenings will show Vanessa Redgrave's "Sea Sorrow", Anahita Ghazvinizadeh's "They" and "Sequel" by Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk.
For the 70th Anniversary Events, we'll be lucky to watch Jane Campion's 2nd season of "Top of the Lake" and Kristen Stewart's shortfilm "Come Swim".