Valeria Golino criticizes Venice Film Festival director over comments on female filmmakers

Actress Valeria Golino will participate in the upcoming Venice International Film Festival with four projects: three as an actress and one as a producer. The latter project marks the directorial debut of Anna Foglietta.

In a cover interview with Vanity Fair Italia, Golino addressed recent comments made by festival director Alberto Barbera regarding the selection of female directors. Barbera had stated he had searched “desperately” for films directed by women. While Golino respects the director's right to select films based on merit, she criticized his choice of words, stating that the term “desperately” does not sound right and that “language has a weight.”

Golino emphasized that she would find it more offensive to be included in the competition solely because of her gender rather than the quality of her work, asserting that artistic merit should remain the primary criterion for selection.