Female directors should fight film-industry sexism by making movies that appeal to as wide an audience as possible, Venice Film Festival jury president Annette Bening said Wednesday, the first day of a festival that has been criticized for a lack of female voices.
"American Beauty" star Bening, a four-time Academy Awards nominee, heads the panel that will choose a winner of the Golden Lion from among 21 films competing for the festival's top prize. Only one is by a woman: Vivian Qu's "Angels Wear White."
Bening said "it's a long road" to equality but things are changing for the better.
She told reporters at the festival that "we as women have to be very sharp and shrewd and creative ourselves about what we chose to make."
She said all directors struggle to get films made and "there is a lot of sexism of course."
"I think the more that we as women can make films that speak to everyone, we can be regarded as filmmakers," Bening added.
Festival director Alberto Barbera has defended the festival's selections this year, saying the industry remains "very sexist" and there simply are not enough female directors.
Barbera told The Associated Press that he didn't like the idea of setting a quota for female-directed films "because it doesn't help them and it doesn't help the films."
There are several female directors in the Venice lineup outside the main competition.
Horizons, the festival's edgier sidebar competition, opened Wednesday with "Nico, 1988," a biopic of the former Velvet Underground singer by Italian director Susanna Nicchiarelli.
Jean Smart, Ariana Grande, Michael Keaton among hosts for “SNL” season 50
Fresh off her Emmys win, Jean Smart will kick off the landmark 50th season of "Saturday Night Live."
NBC on Thursday announced the lineup of hosts for the season, which premieres Sept. 28. Joining Smart on the first show will be Jelly Roll as the musical act. He was also at the Emmys, singing during the ceremony's in memoriam segment.
It will be Smart's first time hosting "SNL."
Comedian Nate Bargatze will host on Oct. 5, with Coldplay as the musical guest.
Ariana Grande will host Oct. 12, with musical guest Stevie Nicks.
"Beetlejuice" star Michael Keaton will host on Oct. 19, the last show before Halloween, and Billie Eilish will be that night's musical guest.
The host on Nov. 2 will be "SNL" alum John Mulaney, with breakout sensation Chappell Roan as the music guest.
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