At the Academy's Women's Luncheon hosted last Tuesday, actor/director Kristen Stewart delivered a fiery keynote to a crowd of Hollywood's biggest female leaders.
A sticking point for Stewart was the woeful number of women in leadership positions on productions.
"In a post #MeToo moment, it seemed possible that stories made by and for women were finally getting their due, that we might be allowed or even encouraged just to express ourselves and our shared experiences, all of our experiences without filter. But I can now attest to the bare-knuckle brawling that it takes every single step of the way when the content is as too dark, too taboo, when the frankness with which it serves up observations about experiences routinely experienced by women frequently provoked disgust and rejection. But they are true and I don't feel disgusting," Stewart said (via The Hollywood Reporter).
Women accounted for just 16% of directors working on the 250 highest-grossing domestic releases last year, according to the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University. This is down from 18% in 2022.
The Center has called this the "Celluloid Ceiling" that prevents women from winning important roles on film and TV sets.
When the study was released at the start of this year, author Martha Lauzen lauded strong directors but pointed to a lack of progress.
"The stunning successes enjoyed by high-profile women in the last few years—including Greta Gerwig, Jane Campion, and Chloé Zhao—have not translated into opportunities for greater numbers of women. Visibility for a few has not generated employment for many," Lauzen said in a statement (via Variety).
Based on 2025 studies from USC, the numbers haven't gotten any better.
At the event this week, Stewart echoed Lauzen's frustration, although in stronger terms.
"May I leave my contortionist skills at the door and speak from the heart? May I not conceal or reframe my anger, but share it lively so as to move through it to something more fun and more beautiful and less boring, more original. The backsliding from our brief moment of progress is statistically devastating. It is devastating, such a pitiful number of films from the past last year have been made by women."
She added, "Our business is in a state of emergency, man."
There are no easy solutions to this problem, obviously, which is a pervasive issue of access and funding. But Stewart had at least one idea.
"We obviously need many more women’s luncheons in our lives. We need to become ladies who lunch all the fucking time."
Also speaking at the event were Academy president Lynette Howell Taylor and famed costumer Ruth E. Carter.
Stewart's feature directorial debut, The Chronology of Water, is in theaters next month. It was adapted from Lidia Yuknavitch's book.
Resources for Female Filmmakers
These groups provide support for female directors through funding, mentorship, professional development, and advocacy. The initiatives below offer tangible resources to help directors at multiple stages of their journey.
Funding and Grants
- The Future of Film Is Female
- Women Make Movies
- Cinefemme
- NYC Women's Fund for Media, Music & Theatre
- Open Meadows Foundation
- Roy Dean Grant
- BendFilm Indie Women
Professional Organizations and Networks
- Alliance of Women Directors
- New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT)
- Film Fatales
- Women of Cinematic Arts - USC
