French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat has withdrawn her latest movie, The Substance, from Poland’s Camerimage Film Festival. Her decision came after a controversial article by the festival’s founder, Marek Żydowicz, sparked backlash.
Fargeat shared a brief statement on her X account Friday morning to announce her decision. She also mentioned that the film’s cinematographer, Benjamin Kračun, would not be attending the festival. Kračun was originally set to take part in Q&A sessions at the event.
After reading the director of the Camerimage Film Festival’s offensive and misogynistic comments, I’ve decided to withdraw The Substance from the festival. Benjamin Kračun, the film’s cinematographer, has also chosen not to attend.
Fargeat wroteAdvertisement
‘The Substance’ shows how these behaviors affect our world. We shouldn’t accept them anymore. We stand with everyone involved in the festival and hope this decision brings the change that’s needed.
She said,
In his controversial article titled Time for Solidarity, published last week in Cinematography World, Żydowicz discussed his ideas for how the festival could adapt as the film industry changes quickly. He pointed out the rise of women cinematographers and directors as the biggest change. However, many industry professionals and unions quickly criticized his article, calling it sexist.
One part of Żydowicz’s article that sparked a lot of online criticism says,
Can we sacrifice works and artists with outstanding achievements just to make room for mediocre productions?
Another part, which filmmakers like Reed Morano and Fabian Wagner also pointed out, says:
While EnergaCamerimage works to recognize women in cinematography, it also wants to keep artistic integrity. Change? Yes, but let’s keep it respectful and honest. It’s about quick progress, not a radical revolution that destroys the great works of art.
Żydowicz’s article was quickly criticized by several industry groups, including the British Society of Cinematographers. They said his words showed an old idea of male superiority in the field and wrongly linked fair gender representation with a decrease in artistic quality. Filmmaker Steve McQueen also decided not to attend the festival, where he was supposed to introduce his film Blitz and receive an honorary award.
The British Society of Cinematographers’ statement was supported by the American Society of Cinematographers, which shared it on their website. Many other industry groups followed, including the Canadian Society of Cinematographers, the Society of Camera Operators, and the Women Cinematographers Network of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Camerimage will start this weekend in Torun, Poland, with a screening of Blitz. McQueen was also supposed to receive an honorary award at the festival. The event will end with a screening of Universal’s Wicked remix, starring Ariana Grande. Cate Blanchett will lead the competition jury.
Source: Deadline