Kristen Stewart: I’m so angry about Hollywood’s progress for women filmmakers
Kristen Stewart: I’m so angry about Hollywood’s progress for women filmmakers
Kristen Stewart condemns the slow pace of change for female filmmakers at a Los Angeles luncheon, urging bold action to end tokenism and silencing.
Kristen Stewart delivered the keynote at the Academy and Chanel’s Women’s Luncheon in Los Angeles, where she laid out a stark critique of the film industry’s treatment of women directors. She called the current state of affairs a 'state of emergency' and argued that silencing female storytellers is a form of violence.
Stewart urged fellow women in film to reject tokenism and 'print our own currency'—to demand concrete change rather than token nods. She said wage gaps and other inequities should be measured in tangible terms, and that progress will require a candid look at the costs of staying quiet.
She credited Lidia Yuknavitch’s memoir The Chronology of Water as a source of voice and inspiration, noting that Yuknavitch helped her articulate truths she already understood. Stewart spoke about her eight-year journey to complete her directorial debut and the battles involved in making provocative work.
Since the MeToo era, she acknowledged, women’s voices have gained traction, but unsanitised stories still scare the industry. 'Bare-knuckle brawling' is what it takes to bring bold, dark or taboo content to screens, she said, adding that creators must resist tokenisation while celebrating their achievements.
The speech underscored a broader push within Hollywood for structural change—more equitable hiring, better support for female-led projects, and a framework to track progress beyond buzzwords.
Cover image source: Kristen Stewart Calls Out ‘Devastating’ Lack of Progress in Hollywood After the Me Too Movement: ‘I'm So Angry’ 🔗
