Following a short time of transformation spurred by the MeToo movement, the industry is again abandoning women.
Actress and filmmaker Kristen Stewart gave a speech at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Women's Luncheon in 2025. She expressed that she was “extremely upset” that the brief era of advancement instigated by the #MeToo movement in the movie business had swiftly transformed into a decline.
“The regression following a fleeting moment of progress is crushing. Such a pitiful amount of movies in the last year were helmed by women,” the actress stated throughout the address.
Kristen Stewart has authored and directed The Chronology of Water, characterizing the “chauvinistic noise” she underwent while adapting Lydia Yuknavich’s novel.
“In the aftermath of Me Too, it appeared that narratives conceived by women and intended for women would at last attain the recognition they merit, that we would be authorized or even pushed to articulate and impart all our experiences unfiltered. But now I can affirm that when the subject matter is excessively somber and forbidden, when the candor with which it portrays observations regarding the experiences that women routinely encounter often elicits revulsion and rejection, then you must wage an arduous struggle at each turn,” the actress revealed concerning the process of working on her own movie.
Surveying the dinner attendees, who encompassed Tessa Thompson, Sarah Paulson, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Patty Jenkins, Alicia Silverstone, Riley Keough, Kristen remarked: “There are so few of us present. We are collectively here presently, and it gives the impression that there are many of us, but, my goodness, it's not actually like that at all. It's not attributable to us.”
She concluded her discourse with a plea: “Those among us fortunate enough to produce a film have a duty to those who are on the verge of doing so.” During her seven-minute oration, Stewart garnered boisterous applause on multiple occasions.
The yearly supper customarily unites women from throughout the film world to celebrate the Academy Gold Fellowship for Women. This year, the fellowships were bestowed upon Ukrainian-born journalist and director Alina Simon and documentary creator Marlene Vignault. Nevertheless, according to The Ankler, only three studio films this year were led by women.
