why the absence of women in the “best achievement” category is bad

“The César for best director goes to…” We do not yet know the name of the winner, but on Friday February 24, during the French cinema awards ceremony, the winner in this category will necessarily be a man. No chance to congratulate a director since none has been named among the five contenders. A noticeable feminine absence when, to name just one, Alice Diop and her Saint Omer was chosen to represent France at the Oscars, after receiving two awards at the Venice Film Festival.

And yet the director is not totally “forgotten” since she is nominated in the category of best first film. No trace, however, of Alice Winocour and See Paris again or Rebecca Zlotowski with Other people’s childrentwo films very well received by the public and the critics. “They really had their place, it’s amazing that they are not in the list”regretted Anne-Dominique Toussaint, producer of The Innocent by Louis Garrel, big favorite with 11 nominations.

“This year, we had very beautiful films made by women, there is no possible ambiguity. They are of quality.”

A director who prefers to remain anonymous

at franceinfo

For its part, the Académie des César observes “with regret” the absence of women in the best achievement category.

Parity among voters that is not found in appointments

This male predominance is not new. According to a study carried out by the 50/50 collective, which works for parity, equality and diversity in cinema and audiovisual, between 2018 and 2022, only 20% of those appointed in the best achievement category were women. And none won. In 47 editions, only Tonie Marshall, in 2000, won this César for Venus Beauty (Institute). Died in March 2020, she is still waiting for a successor. In addition, in the queen category of best film, the one that the public retains, a single feature film, The Almond Treesis the work of a woman, Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi.

Faced with the observation, the people interviewed by franceinfo do not hide their disappointment. “We can only deplore the absence of women, but we are not going to go to each voter to force them to choose one”assures Audrey Dana, the director of Under girls’ skirts. “Everyone opts for a film without worrying about the gender of the person who made it.”

For the Césars, 4,705 voters, divided into 10 colleges bringing together all the professions of the seventh art, make up the Academy which decides by vote on the nominations and the winners. There are 44% of women there, she says. Among the 520 new members this year, 69% are women, again according to the body. But this quasi-parity within the voters is not found in the appointments. “I“Academy is probably more conservative than one would like to believe, as society can be”deduces Clémentine Charlemaine, co-president of the 50/50 collective.

“These nominations reflect a patriarchal society. When you think of the best films, you inevitably think of good men, that’s for sure and certain.”

Audrey Dana, director

at franceinfo

Audrey Dana cites in particular the example of the cover of the magazine French Filmhighlighting Jérôme Seydoux, the boss of Pathé, and a group of actors (Vincent Cassel, Pierre Niney, Guillaume Canet, Pio Marmaï, Dany Boon, François Civil) last September, in the midst of a cinema attendance crisis obscure, which set the objective of “reconquer” the public. A cover pinned for his machismo on social networks by the director Audrey Diwan, and that the magazine had then regretted.

Initiatives to still reward women

Even if there is parity in public film schools or at university, places remain expensive in the industry for women. “Today, only 24% of female directors work”notes the co-president of the 50/50 collective. One of them tells the story of the doctor who became a director Thomas Lilti, whose first film, Blindfolded, had made less than 3,000 admissions, according to the trade-only site CBO Box Office. “Producers believed in him, he was able to do other films and find success with ‘Hippocrates’. I can’t help but wonder if a woman would be given a second chance if her first feature had 3,000 admissions”she asks herself.

In the race for prizes and recognition, women go a long way, according to Véronique Le Bris, author of the book 100 Great Films by Female Directors and creator of the Alice Guy prize, which has rewarded, since 2018, the director of the year : “It is exactly the same phenomenon as the glass ceiling. The fewer elected officials there are, the fewer women there are. At the Césars, the number of films and nominations is limited, so women are more easily excluded.” This leads to “the depreciation of the talent of women and their non-recognition”she judges.

“It’s a lever to be able to make a next film, if a director is invisible, it’s even more complicated for her to make another feature film.”

A director who prefers to remain anonymous

at franceinfo

This inequality of access to prices adds to others. According to a study by the National Cinema Center dating from March 2021, women have an average budget of 3.14 million euros to make a film, or 2.14 million euros less than men. “The films of female directors are less visible, therefore less seen, less requested by the public and fall more easily into oblivion. However, the awards are a way of passing on to posterity”supports Véronique Le Bris.

The Alice Guy Prize, awarded in 2023 to Alice Winocour for See Paris againmeets this need. “Alice Guy is the first director in the history of the seventh art, lived at the time of the Lumière brothers, discovered cinema thanks to themsays the journalist and critic at Full screen. She had the idea of ​​using it to tell stories. His name, his career, his contribution have been erased. I wanted to give his name to this award to pay tribute to him. If women don’t work on their notoriety, they will suffer the same fate.”

Towards fairer representation in the future?

Still, discussing the place of women at the Césars – first and foremost with female directors – remains tricky. “Those not named this year may be bitter, but they don’t want to be seen as victims.”, confides a director, absent from the nominations. By speaking out, those who may be affected could receive encouragement, but also risk being singled out. Because the Academy also insists on these categories, certainly less prestigious, in which feminine nouns appear well.

The body is therefore delighted to “Ia massive presence of women in the so-called emerging cinema categories, with 10 women in short films, 4 in first film, 2 in animation and 2 in documentary”. She sees it “a sign highly encouraging”. “It is very good to reward the best first films, but it is also important to celebrate a director who is not at her first to ensure her longevity”nuance the director Nathalie Marchak (by instinct).

Nevertheless, “things are moving in the right direction, even if it’s slow, observes for her part the ecologist deputy Marie-Charlotte Garin. The elected representative of the Rhône is at the initiative of the Cléopâtre Prize, launched with the magazine chat, in opposition to the Césars, to reward the best director of the year. It all started with a joke. “Mone team suggested thatwe tweet it, tells the elected. Then ‘Causette’ took up the subject and the echo was wider than expected.”