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🇨🇭 Switzerland /Culture & Society

Venice Film Festival Rolls Out Red Carpet for George Clooney, Not Female Directors

From Le Temps · () French

Translated from French and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

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  • George Clooney received an honorary Golden Lion at the opening of the 83rd Venice Film Festival and criticized the U.S. government as a “kakistocracy.”
  • Jury president Maggie Gyllenhaal challenged the festival’s decision to select only two films directed by women, one of them co-directed with a man and added late.
  • The festival also features independent films and documentaries about Rupert Murdoch, Elon Musk, and Oasis, while four films address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

George Clooney received Venice’s honorary Golden Lion, then used the festival stage to attack the U.S. government. The 65-year-old actor, now a French citizen, called it a “kakistocracy”, meaning a country governed by the least qualified people.

“We live in a time when the people who lead us, the people with the most money, tell us to be afraid of one another,” Clooney said while accepting the award. He described his career as “a series of happy accidents”, recalling a rise to icon status that came late and began on television.

kakistocracy

· George ClooneyClooney used the term to describe the U.S. government during his Golden Lion acceptance speech.

The celebration of Clooney unfolded alongside a sharp dispute over gender representation. Maggie Gyllenhaal, the American actor and director presiding over the jury, must judge 21 films in competition. She criticized the festival for programming only two films directed by women. One was co-directed with a man and added to the selection at a late stage.

We live in a time when the people who lead us, the people with the most money, tell us to be afraid of one another.

· George ClooneyHe criticized the messages he said political and wealthy leaders were sending society.

Gyllenhaal sarcastically told artistic director Alberto Barbera: “I suppose it is now clear once and for all that men make better films than women.” Barbera defended the lineup by saying the films submitted by women were of lower quality. Gyllenhaal replied that “there is obviously a systemic problem” and that women face greater difficulty securing financing.

The major American studios are also largely absent, continuing a trend seen at Cannes and Berlin. That has opened space for independent productions, including Danny Boyle’s opening film, “Ink”, about the history of the British tabloid The Sun and its owner Rupert Murdoch. Guy Pearce plays Murdoch, while Robert Pattinson portrays a ruthless television presenter in “Primetime”, inspired by “To Catch a Predator” creator Chris Hansen.

a series of happy accidents

· George ClooneyClooney described the unexpected turns that shaped his career.

Non-competition documentaries focus on figures and cultural forces with strong public profiles. They include “Musk”, a three-hour-45-minute film about the turbulent trajectory of the Tesla and SpaceX owner, and “Don’t Look Back in Anger”, about the Gallagher brothers and Oasis. Four films also address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including “NAZA” by Oscar-winning Israeli directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor.

I suppose it is now clear once and for all that men make better films than women.

· Maggie GyllenhaalGyllenhaal used irony to criticize the festival’s limited selection of films by female directors.
About this summary

Originally published by Le Temps in French. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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