Venice (AFP) – “I would have loved to have more female colleagues in competition,” says director May el-Toukhy, one of only two female directors in the top competition at this year’s Venice Film Festival. Speaking to AFP, alongside the lead actress from her film ‘Woman Unknown’, el-Toukhy adds that she has “been the only woman in so many different settings,” and hopes to “be part of changing the discourse.” The festival’s initial list of nominees for the top prize saw el-Toukhy as the only woman, compared with 20 male directors, before a second film directed by a woman was added into the mix. Venice boss Alberto Barbera angered many observers in July when he said the initial 20-1 male domination of the top competition was because the submissions from women “were not enough to put them into the competition”.
