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# Maggie Gyllenhaal Just Said the Quiet Part Out Loud About Women in Film
- URL: https://www.filmoiselle.com/maggie-gyllenhaal-women-in-film-venice-2026/
- Published: 2026-09-02T15:34:42.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-02T15:34:42.000Z
- Description: Only one film in this year's Venice competition was solely directed by a woman. Jury president Maggie Gyllenhaal was asked why, and her answer named a problem the industry keeps avoiding.
- Author: Daria Ershova
- Tags: Film & TV News, Industry Insider

The Venice International Film Festival opened its doors today, September 2nd. One of the most important festivals in the industry, Venice has a habit of introducing the films, actors, and directors who go on to define [awards season](https://www.filmoiselle.com/awards-season-2026-2027-calendar-dates-oscars/), showcasing features and shorts from all over the world. This morning, it opened with a thoughtful conversation between this year's jury and the public — and it didn't take long for the most important question of the day to surface.

> Only one film solely directed by a woman made the Venice competition this year.  
>  
> Jury president Maggie Gyllenhaal, asked about it: "I guess it's finally become clear that men make better movies than women do." Then, seriously: "There's a systemic problem. It's harder for women to…
> 
> — Filmoiselle (@Filmoiselle) [September 2, 2026](https://x.com/Filmoiselle/status/2095146428356084204?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=filmoiselle.com)

Maggie Gyllenhaal, the American actress and filmmaker, is this year's jury president. Asked about the near-total absence of women directors in competition — only one film in the lineup was solely directed by a woman — she didn't soften it. She started with a deadpan, according to [Variety](https://variety.com/2026/film/festivals/maggie-gyllenhaal-films-political-venice-film-festival-1236848746/?ref=filmoiselle.com):

> *"I guess it's finally become clear that men make better movies than women do."*

The serious answer followed the sarcasm: *"There's a systemic problem. It's harder for women to get films financed."* 

Gyllenhaal wondered aloud whether women, "having had a different experience of being alive in the world," want to make films about subjects that aren't always deemed "high art" — before asking the question at the center of everything: *"Who decides what's good? Who decides what is valuable?"*

That question is the whole issue.

Because women's stories, more often than not, get dismissed as "not high art." Women have been left in the dark for a long time, their experiences waved away as less serious, less universal, less worthy of a budget. There are centuries of stories still waiting to be told — stories that could teach us, move us, show us the world through eyes that have rarely been handed the camera. So why do they keep getting declined?

And this isn't only about actresses being silenced or turned away from roles. It's about directors, too. A woman can come with a fresh idea, a story worth telling, even a crew ready to make it — but a big project needs financing, and the investor world is still overwhelmingly run by men. So the stories simply don't get funded. The gatekeeping happens before the cameras ever roll.

It's the same thing [Annabelle Wallis](https://www.filmoiselle.com/annabel-wallis-women-action-films-female-leads/) pointed to just a few weeks ago, when she said she'd love to lead an action film — but that it ultimately isn't her decision. An industry mostly run by men doesn't seem to want a woman-led action film, even though audiences have proven, again and again, that women love action too. From actresses to directors to everyone working behind the scenes, this is an industry-wide problem. Women have gained enormous ground over the last century — but there's still a very noticeable line between who gets to tell stories and who gets to fund them.

What makes Gyllenhaal's comments so important is *where* they're coming from. She isn't a frustrated newcomer; she's the president of the jury at one of the most prestigious festivals in the world, presiding over a largely international committee. When she names a systemic problem, it's coming from the very top. And she's far from alone. Countless actresses and filmmakers have raised this same issue for years.

So the question becomes: how do we actually fix it? How do women gain real ground in an industry that has profited off women's *looks* for over a century, but still hesitates to invest in women's *minds* — and in the stories that audiences are clearly showing up to watch?

Because the problem here has never been talent; it's unfortunately an access. It's who holds the purse strings, and what they've decided is worth paying for.

And maybe the most telling part of all: it took a woman running the jury to say it out loud.