A Polish film festival has been plunged into chaos after its founder lamented the “mediocre” work of women and criticized calls for more women to enter the industry.
The Camerimage film festival, which opened this weekend in the Polish city of Torun, was supposed to be one of the most anticipated events of the year for the industry.
Hollywood heavyweights like Cate Blanchett presides over the award jury and the director Steve McQueen was going to be the guest of honor.
However, the festival has been plunged into chaos after Polish filmmaker and Camerimage founder Marek Zydowicz wrote an article that many have called “deeply misogynistic.”
This has led to stars leaving and protests taking to the streets.
The backlash came after Zydowicz took aim at calls for the 30-year-old event to include more cinematographers.
In a column for Cinematography World magazine, he said it was “crucial as it rectifies the obvious injustice present in social development.”
He stated that Camerimage would not follow in the footsteps of other European film festivals which had been “criticized for their selections for succumbing to or promoting such trends.”
Polish film festival Camerimage has been plunged into chaos after filmmaker and founder Marek Zydowicz (pictured) wrote an article that many have called “deeply misogynistic”.
After their comments, the stars left and protesters took to the streets outside the event in the Polish city of Torun.
The main jury members, including Cate Blanchett, decided to attend the festival. In a statement, they said they welcomed the debate on gender representation and “unconditionally supported the necessary change towards genuine inclusion.”
In response to her comments, Steve McQueen canceled his trip and withdrew his film Blitz, which was supposed to open the festival.
He was joined by French director Coralie Fargeat of the hit body horror blockbuster The Substance, starring Hollywood legend Demi Moore.
In words reported by The timesFargeat said: ‘The Substance is about the impact of precisely this type of behavior on our world. “We should not tolerate them anymore.”
The British Society of Cinematographers (BSC), whose members have collectively won 22 Oscars, published an open letter condemning Zydowicz’s column.
At first, Zydowicz tried to stand his ground, arguing that his comments had been “misinterpreted.”
As opposition grew, so did pressure on the 65-year-old director, who later apologized, saying it was never his intention to “undermine the achievements of any filmmaker.”
He also added that “it is irrelevant whether this misunderstanding was due to an unfortunate choice of words or an inaccurate translation from Polish.”
Demi Moore in this summer’s hit body horror blockbuster, The Substance. The film’s director, Coralie Fargeat, was one of many stars to withdraw from the festival.
At first, Zydowicz tried to stand his ground, arguing that his comments had been “misinterpreted,” but as opposition grew, so did pressure on the 65-year-old director, who later apologized.
Director Steve McQueen with the star of his new film Blitz Saoirse Ronan. In response to Zydowicz’s comments, Steve Mcqueen canceled his trip and withdrew his film Blitz from the festival.
The main jury members, including Blanchett, decided to attend the festival.
In a statement they said they welcomed the debate on gender representation and “unconditionally supported the necessary change towards genuine inclusion”.
The festival will see the world premiere of Alec Baldwin’s western Rust, which faced delays after Baldwin accidentally shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins while on set in October 2021.
Other films set to screen include Dune: Part Two and the upcoming musical Wicked.