“The Substance” director Coralie Fargeat is the latest filmmaker to bow out of the upcoming Camerimage Film Festival over festival director Marek Żydowicz’s comments calling into question the quality of work from female cinematographers.
“After discovering the highly misogynistic and offensive words of the director of the Camerimage Film Festival, I have decided to pull ‘The Substance’ from the festival (and [director of photography] Benjamin Kračun has decided not to attend),” Fargeat said in a statement posted on X.
She continued, “‘The Substance’ is about the impact of exactly these types of behaviors on our world. We shouldn’t tolerate them anymore. We send our support to all involved in the festival and hope this decision will help create a much needed change.”
Fargeat follows “Blitz” filmmaker Steve McQueen, who dropped out of the festival earlier this week. The backlash comes after Żydowicz, the CEO and founder of the cinematography-focused Camerimage, published an op-ed questioning women in the profession.
“The film industry is undergoing rapid changes, affecting the cinematic image, its content and aesthetics,” Żydowicz wrote in his piece “Time for Solidarity,” which was published last week in the latest edition of Cinematography World magazine. “One of the most significant changes is the growing recognition of female cinematographers and directors. This evolution is crucial as it rectifies the obvious injustice present in societal development.”
“However, it also raises a question: Can the pursuit of change exclude what is good? Can we sacrifice works and artists with outstanding artistic achievements solely to make room for mediocre film production?” he asked.
The industry, especially female filmmakers and DPs, spoke out in anger over the festival director’s comments. McQueen said on Tuesday he couldn’t get past the director’s “deeply offensive words.”
“Having read Marek Zydowicz’s op-ed concerning female cinematographers, I have decided not to attend the opening night presentation of my film ‘Blitz’ this weekend,” McQueen said in a statement. “Although he has issued an apology, I cannot get past what I consider deeply offensive words. I have enormous respect for cinematographers of all genders including women, and believe we have to do and demand better to make room for everyone at the table.”
The festival’s jury, which is headed by Cate Blanchett and includes Anna Higgs, Sandy Powell, Anthony Dod Mantle, Rodrigo Prieto, Lukasz Zal and Jolanta Dylewska, issued a statement earlier this week saying they welcome debate around gender representation in filmmaking.
“We welcome debate regarding gender representation,” the group wrote. “While we will be focused on the task we have the great privilege to have been invited to take on — to watch and celebrate the work of cinematographers — we look forward to being part of meaningful discussions with our peers at the festival about greater inclusion and recognition of excellence in all its forms in our industry. We wholeheartedly support the necessary shift towards genuine inclusivity, and festivals can be a great forum for engaging in such conversations and championing positive change.”
