“I suggest that we stop the Caesars and mount the Cleopatras. Originally, it was a simple “joke” in less than 70 characters on Twitter after the Best Direction nominations were revealed. The EELV deputy for Lyon, Marie-Charlotte Garin, author of the tweet, did not expect the enthusiasm that her proposal generated. The feminist magazine chat will actually create a price Cleopatra to reward the best female directors. The chosen one came back with 20 minutes on his idea which actually goes further than the desire for a “buzz”.
Why did you publish these words last Wednesday?
It came on the tone of the joke by discovering the exclusively male selection for the best achievement at the Césars. It was quite surprising when we had a lot of films of great talent that were made in the past months by women. To propose a Cleopatra prize was to denounce this reality with a touch of humour.
The joke came to fruition with the creation of the prize by ” chat »What do you think ?
I did not expect such enthusiasm. But I think it says something about our times. Today, this question of the invisibilization of women is causing a reaction. Maybe a while ago it wouldn’t have caused so much buzz and no one would have heard of it or picked up on the issue. If there was such a reaction, it is because things are moving forward. Initiatives already exist in this direction, such as the prize Alice Guy. And I’m happy if a touch of humor makes something that often goes unnoticed visible. The objective is for the film industry to progress in this direction and to become aware that there may be biases with an exclusively male selection.
That is to say ?
Exclusively male selections inevitably lead to a man winning the prize. It’s a cultural bias that makes it something very common throughout history. And in general, it was the men who were put forward the most, although there is nothing that tells us and proves to us that there were no excellent women opposite. On the contrary, the works show us that because of their position and consideration in society, they were not recognized.
Are gendered prices the solution to this bias?
The ideal would be to have mixed prizes where women would be selected equally with men, without this prejudging the outcome of the prize. Here is the big problem. The prize will necessarily be awarded to a man while there were excellent films made by women, which cannot be rewarded.
What should be done ?
It is important to make women visible. Today, we have started this work culturally. More and more women are represented. But in some areas, it takes longer. We must not forget that these representations have real stakes, for little girls for example. They can say to themselves: “I too would like to be a film director later on”. This reflection is only possible if they have models and if they see names in a ceremony such as the Caesars. My touch of humor was also a way of making a little reminder on this.