Guillermo del Toro says a push for gender equality in Hollywood “is beyond a gesture, it’s a need.”
The Mexican director was speaking Wednesday at the Venice International Film Festival, where he is head of this year’s jury.
In a passionate speech during the jury press conference, de Toro said: “The goal has to be clear and has to remain to be 50/50 by 2020.”
He added: “It’s a real problem we have in the culture in general. Many of the voices that should be heard, need to be heard.”
This year’s jury consists of five women and four men in an effort to readdress the imbalance that has occurred in previous years.
Venice film festival 1 (AFP)
The members are: Austrian actor Christoph Waltz, New Zealand’s actor and producer Taika Waititi, British actress Naomi Watts, Polish producer Malgorzata Szumowska, Danish actress Trine Dyrholm, French actress Nicole Garcia, president of the jury and Mexican director Guillermo Del Toro, Taiwanese actress and director Sylvia Chang and Italian director Paolo Genovese .
