{"id":665044,"date":"2026-04-24T15:00:30","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T13:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/numero.com\/non-classifiee\/why-more-and-more-actresses-are-turning-to-directing\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T15:50:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T13:50:16","slug":"why-more-and-more-actresses-are-turning-to-directing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/numero.com\/en\/culture-en\/movies\/why-more-and-more-actresses-are-turning-to-directing\/","title":{"rendered":"Why do many actresses turn to film direction?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Laetitia Dosch in Le proc\u00e8s du chien<\/em> (2024) \u00a9 Bande \u00e0 Part Productions.<\/p>

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It was one of the key trends in recent years\u2014and at the last Cannes Film Festival<\/strong>. And it\u2019s likely to shape the next one, too. In 2024, many actresses debuted films as directors. C\u00e9line Sallette<\/strong> appeared on the Croisette with Niki<\/em><\/strong>, a biopic about artist Niki de Saint Phalle; No\u00e9mie Merlant<\/strong> unveiled Les Femmes au balcon<\/em><\/strong> (set in a heatwave-stricken Marseille); Laetitia Dosch presented Le Proc\u00e8s du chien<\/em><\/strong>; and Ariane Labed<\/strong> introduced September Says<\/em>. Judith Godr\u00e8che<\/strong> premiered Moi aussi<\/em>, a short film addressing sexual violence. Even the festival\u2019s jury president, Greta Gerwig<\/strong><\/a>, is an actress-turned-director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An increasing number of actresses go behind the camera<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The growing number of women stepping behind the camera to express their own vision\u2014beyond the male gaze<\/em>\u2014is no coincidence. This trend aligns closely with the momentum of the #MeToo<\/strong> movement. Women no longer want to be objects of male desire or perspective\u2014they\u2019re creating their own stories, populated with heroines often far more nuanced than those imagined by male directors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As filmmaker Anissa Bonnefont<\/strong> recently put it: \u201cThere have been\u2014and still are\u2014men who tell women\u2019s stories beautifully. But today, more and more female directors are beginning to make space for a different representation of women in cinema. It\u2019s reassuring to witness this, even though we\u2019re still very far from gender equality in our industry. Now we\u2019re seeing films made by women where female characters are portrayed in all their complexity and strength\u2014and that needs to stop being frightening.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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