Women Filmmakers Get Top Billing at Academy+Chanel Lunch

Actor and director Kristen Stewart gave a rousing address to those in attendance at the Academy Museum

Words by ELIZABETH VARNELL
Photography by MYLES HENDRIK

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and Chanel hosted what has become an annual luncheon for women who act, write, direct, produce, and take part in numerous aspects of filmmaking at the Academy Museum on Tuesday, November 4. The midday gathering brought together those who have received Oscars and emerging creatives alike to celebrate their collective work and advocate for new projects. “Women make up more than half the population, so anytime you’re interested in telling stories of the majority of the people who are walking on the planet and amplifying their experiences as human beings will always be a worthy way to spend your time,” said Sarah Paulson. Academy President Lynette Howell Taylor welcomed a starry group that also included Kristen Stewart, Zoey Deutch, Patty Jenkins, Felicity Jones, Leslie Mann, Tessa Thompson, Diane Warren, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Riley Keough, Emma Mackey, Maude Apatow, Colleen Atwood, and Kaitlyn Dever.

When Black Panther costume designer Ruth E. Carter took the stage, she acknowledged the help she received when she began what became a storied career that now spans more than 50 films. “I wouldn’t be standing here today with two Oscars without people who guided me,” she said, crediting a college professor as well as directors Spike Lee and John Singleton for giving her room to learn and grow. She presented Gold Fellowships to recipients Alina Simone, a Ukrainian-born American journalist and filmmaker whose work has appeared in The New York Times, NPR, The Guardian, The Atlantic, and various film festivals, and Marlén Viñayo, a documentary maker who is based in El Salvador and won the prize as an international filmmaker.

Actor and The Chronology of Water director Stewart gave the luncheon’s keynote speech. “In supporting women in film, we’re starting to redefine desire and make films from the places that we really want to come from,” she said, noting how challenging it can be for those who take up the mantle. “I can now attest to the bare-knuckle brawling that it takes every step of the way,” she added. Stewart advocated for films about all the varying elements of women’s complex lives. “Observations about experiences routinely experienced by women frequently provoke disgust and rejection, but they are true so I think that we should tell them.” She finished her speech with a reminder that there are so many more stories to tell: “Those of us who have been lucky enough to make a movie have a responsibility to those who are yet to come.”