A spot in competition at the Venice Film Festival can launch careers and Oscar winners, but in recent years, films directed by women have been mostly excluded from vying for the coveted Golden Lion. She applied to Venice specifically because of another female-directed film, Margarethe von Trotta's Marianne and Julianne, from 1981, which had a massive influence on her. Applying was a no-brainer for Norwegian director Fastvold, who had a long history with the Venice Film Festival with Vox Lux and Childhood of a Leader, films she co-wrote with her partner Brady Corbet. U.S. film director Sofia Coppola holds the Golden Lion she received for the film Somewhere during the awards ceremony of the 67th Venice film festival on Sept. 11, 2010. The importance of the platform of a major festival like Venice cannot be understated, according to Women and Hollywood founder and publisher Melissa Silverstein.

Source: CBC News September 02, 2020 17:48 UTC