CANNES WATCH: Director Jane Campion says there’s ‘inherent sexism’ in the movie industry

CANNES, France – Jane Campion, the only female director in Cannes Film Festival history to win the Palme d’Or, threw a punch at the male-dominated film industry during Cannes’ inaugural jury press conference.

“There is inherent sexism in the industry. … It does feel very undemocratic,” said Campion, this year’s jury president, sitting alongside jury members Wednesday including director Sofia Coppola and actors Gael García Bernal and Willem Dafoe.

“Excuse me gentlemen. It’s not that I resent the male filmmakers … but there are some things that women are doing that we don’t get to know about … a more feminine vision,” she said, adding that only 7 per cent of 1,800 entries submitted to the Cannes Film Festival were directed by women.

But the New Zealand “Piano” director, who’s known for her good humour, dispelled the tensions at one point.

“My big problem is: What to wear? That’s everyone’s problem at the Cannes Film Festival. There’s a very high bar.”

Campion won the Palme d’Or, the festival’s top honour, in 1993 for “The Piano Lesson.”

— By Thomas Adamson, AP Writer (http://www.twitter.com/ThomasAdamsonAP)