Venice Chief Alberto Barbera Under Fire for Lack of Female Directors in Competition: ‘It Is a One-Dimensional Selection’

Variety reports that Venice Film Festival artistic director Alberto Barbera is facing criticism over a significant underrepresentation of women filmmakers in this year's lineup. Only one woman-directed film appears in the competition's twenty titles—a sharp decline that's drawn pushback from Italian film organizations, including Women in Film Television and Media Italia. The groups have pointed to a similar imbalance in the Italian selection, which features seven male directors. Barbera's choices have been described as a one-dimensional selection.

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