French filmmaker Claire Denis, known for ‘Beau Travail’ and ‘Both Sides Of The Blade’, on Thursday said it is tough to be a filmmaker and more so if one is a woman.
The director presented her latest film ‘Stars At Noon’ at the 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival today. Starring Margaret Qualley and Joe Alwyn, the romantic thriller is part of the 21 film line-up in the Competition section.
Apart from Denis, only four women filmmakers -- Charlotte Vandermeersch (co-director of ‘The Eight Mountains’), Valeria Bruni Tedeschi (‘Forever Young’), Leonor Serraille (‘Mother And Son’), and debutante Kelly Reichardt (‘Showing Up’) -- are part of the Competition section, vying for the Palme d'Or, the top prize at Cannes.
Speaking on the lack of female representation in the festival's official selection, Denis said while the situation was "much better now", there was still a long way to go.
"Still, it is really hard for men and women to (make) movies, (but) it is harder for women. But women are tough, and it is important to be tough when you are making films," the 76-year-old director said as quoted by The Hollywood Reporter.
‘Stars At Noon’ is Denis' second title to appear in competition in Cannes, following the premiere of her debut feature ‘Chocolat’ in 1988.
A feature adaptation of the novel of the same name by Denis Johnson, ‘Stars At Noon’ follows a mysterious English businessman (Alwyn) and an American journalist (Qualley) who struck up a romance and must now team up to escape Nicaragua during the Nicaraguan Revolution circa 1984s.
The Cannes Film Festival closes on May 28.
[With Inputs From PTI]
