Shattering The Glass Ceiling Among Cannes Film Festival Chatter

Attending the 70th Annual Cannes Film Festival last week was an amazing experience. I was there to promote the documentary I directed, "Lady Wrestler: The Amazing, Untold Story of African-American Women in the Ring."

Cannes is known for its glitz and glamour and there were many glittering, sparkly things at the festival: sequins glinting on the designer dresses worn by Hollywood stars; expensive jewelry gleaming from their ears, necks and fingers; and, of course, the paparazzi's never-ending flashbulbs. 

But the shiny thing that stood out the most was the ever-present glass ceiling, that age-old barrier keeping women and people of color from getting a firm foothold in the movie industry.

Shattering the glass ceiling was the topic of an excellent panel discussion I attended during the festival about the need for more diversity both in front of and behind the camera. The May 23 event was presented by the In-Focus Film Society, founded by Monica Cooper. The organization aims to provide more opportunities for women and people of color in the film industry.

Panelists included Euzhan Palcy, who directed the 1983 cult classic "Sugar Cane Alley" and 1989's "A Dry White Season"; veteran actress Beverly Todd, whose extensive body of work includes "I Will Follow," Ava  Duvernay's directorial debut; Daphna Ziman, president and chief creative officer of cable channel Cinemoi; and Sue Zizza, owner of Sue Media Productions. The panel was moderated by Derrion Gipson, an African-American female executive with actors' organization Sag Indie.

Gipson noted that even when female filmmakers are given the opportunity to direct blockbusters, they are often overlooked for future installments of the franchise. She cited the example of 2015's "50 Shades of Grey," which was directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson (a woman), but the 2017 sequel "50 Shades Darker" was directed by James Foley (a man).

Even though women directors often bring projects in on time and under-budget, there's an erroneous perception that if a studio gives a woman $5 million to shoot a movie, "She'll make the movie for $2 million and spend the rest on purses and shoes," Gipson said.

Filmmakers who value diversity should use box-office numbers to combat the notion that movies with people of color don't make money internationally, Gipson said. She cited the example of the Oscar-winning drama "Moonlight," which she said made more money overseas than it did in the United States.

"Even though it's been debunked, there is still this issue of, 'Do diverse films travel?'" Gipson said. "[Studio executives] have the idea that they can't make their money back."

Todd, who is currently producing a documentary on the life of music legend Dionne Warwick, said some movie studios make a false effort to cast actors of color by indicating that a role is open to "all ethnicities."

"They can say, 'We offered this role to everybody,'" she said.

Palcy said she's seen little progress since she became one of the first women of African descent to direct an internationally successful movie more than 30 years ago. 

"People say, 'Things are changing,' but I want to say, 'How and how much?'" Palcy said.

In order for lasting change to occur, more women and people of color will have to assume positions of power at movie studios and television networks, Ziman noted.

"If we don't make sure that we have women and minorities at the helm," she said, "we are never going to solve the problem."

One option for women and people of color who want to succeed in the entertainment industry is to become entrepreneurs and form their own companies. This is what Zizza ultimately decided to do: "I said, 'I'm going to name the company after me and I'm going to do it myself.'"