The Substance director Coralie Fargeat has pulled her film, starring Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley, from the 2024 Camerimage Film Festival in response to what she called “highly misogynistic and offensive” comments from festival CEO Marek Zydowicz.
“The Substance is about the impact of exactly those types of behaviors on our world.
We send our support to all involved in the festival and hope this decision will create a much needed change,” Fargeat and Kracun added in their joint statement.
In his column, Zydowicz seemed to argue that greater female representation could result in a lineup of diminished artistic quality.
“The film industry is undergoing rapid changes, affecting the cinematic image, its content and aesthetics,” Zydowicz wrote in Cinematography World magazine.
The 2024 Camerimage Film Festival has banned Coralie Fargeat’s Substance, which starred Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley, due to remarks made by festival CEO Marek Zydowicz that Fargeat described as “highly misogynistic and offensive.”.
In a statement posted on X, Fargeat revealed the decision and mentioned that Benjamin Kracun, the cinematographer for The Substance, has also chosen not to go to this year’s Camerimage event, which begins in Poland on Saturday.
The impact of those kinds of actions on our world is the subject of The Substance. We must no longer put up with them. We hope that this decision will bring about a much-needed change, and we send our support to everyone involved in the festival,” Fargeat and Kracun added in their joint statement.
Marek Zydowicz, founder and CEO of the festival, caused controversy last week when he made comments in an editorial regarding the festival’s lack of female cinematographers in previous editions’ selections. Zydowicz seemed to make the case in his column that a lineup with more female representation might be less artistically sound.
In Cinematography World magazine, Zydowicz wrote, “The film industry is undergoing rapid changes, affecting the cinematic image, its content, and its aesthetics.”. The increasing acceptance of female directors and cinematographers is among the biggest shifts. Because it addresses the glaring injustice in societal development, this evolution is essential. But it also begs the question, “Can we sacrifice works and artists with exceptional artistic accomplishments in order to make room for mediocre film production? Can the pursuit of change exclude what is good?”.
Steve McQueen, who was supposed to attend the festival’s opening night screening of his most recent feature, Blitz, canceled his appearance after several prominent cinematography guilds swiftly denounced the comments.
The jury for the Camerimage main competition, which was led by Cate Blanchett and consisted of Anna Higgs, Sandy Powell, Anthony Dod Mantle, Rodrigo Prieto, Lukasz Zal, and Jolanta Dylewska, responded to Zydowicz’s comments and endorsed the festival.
The group wrote, “We welcome debate regarding gender representation.”. We are looking forward to participating in meaningful conversations with our peers at the festival regarding greater inclusion and recognition of excellence in all its forms in our industry, even as we concentrate on the task we have been invited to undertake, which is to watch and celebrate the work of cinematographers. We firmly believe that a change toward true inclusivity is essential, and festivals can serve as an excellent platform for promoting constructive change and having these discussions. “”.
Moore plays Elisabeth Sparkle in The Substance, who gets fired as the celebrity host of a daytime TV fitness show and starts injecting a secret serum to create a younger, more ideal version of herself. However, there are issues because the two must switch places every week.
