Coralie Fargeat and The Substance will not be present at the Camerimage festival in Poland. The director made the decision to withdraw her film, awarded at the last Cannes Film Festival, after “highly misogynistic and offensive” comments from the director of the event, she explained on X.
« The Substance deals precisely with the impact of this type of behavior in our world. We should no longer tolerate them,” said the director.
British director Steve McQueen also cancels his visit
This decision comes after the publication of a column by Marek Żydowicz, organizer of Camerimage, in the magazine Cinematography World. As reported by several media, including Teleramahe seemed to suggest that a greater representation of female cinematographers and directors in the selection could lead to “mediocre film productions”. “Should we reject valuable works just to ‘make room’ in the name of social change? », asked the director of this festival which has been held since November 16 in the Polish town of Toruń.
Following these comments, British director Steve McQueen also canceled his visit. He was to receive a prize there. “After reading Marek Żydowicz’s editorial on women filmmakers, I decided not to attend the premiere of my film Blitz this weekend,” he told Variety. “While he has apologized, I cannot move past what I consider to be deeply offensive words. »
After apologizing again, the festival director said he was open to discussion in order to “move forward together in a more open and inclusive way”. For her part, Cate Blanchett will remain at the head of the jury for this edition. “We look forward to engaging in meaningful discussions with our festival peers about greater inclusion and recognition of excellence in all its forms in our industry,” the jury said in a statement relayed by Variety.
