It’s always the right time to talk about the role of women, who have been so glaringly absent from public life. I want to do so within the world of cinema, a field that is particularly timely. The media frenzy over #metoo against sexual harassment, coupled with the increasing demands for equal salaries, are beginning to raise awareness. But even before this feminist onslaught, many women have left their imprint on cinema, either in front of or behind the camera, even though their importance is still negligible. The dearth of successful female film directors is yet another example of the situation in which women find themselves in the workplace in general, with the “glass ceiling” that is so difficult to break through. We could mention a few exceptions: Kathryn Bigelow, Jane Campion, Jodie Foster, Sofia Coppola, Mia Hansen Love and in Spain Isabel Coixet, Gracia Querejeta and the recent phenomenon Carla Simon, and that’s it. I don’t know if you are aware that the first female director ever mentioned was the Parisian Alice Guy-Blaché. She began her relationship with the seventh art in 1894 and was a contemporary of the Lumière brothers. Which ones are remembered? It goes without saying…
Throughout the history of cinema, most actresses have been relegated to supporting roles, as complements to the male leads, and they are often in roles associated with motherhood or eroticism more than with strong personalities with their own motivations. Nonetheless, if we take a look at the film line-ups we can see that some of the films feature women and that female empowerment is on the rise. I thought I’d choose the films from the past 40 years that, in my opinion, project women with more forceful characters, women burning to take on the world, even though half of the films are directed by men. The time is coming for these modern women to secure the role they deserve, on the big screen as well.
