International
Jane Campion only woman to win Palme d’Or at Cannes in last fifty years
NEW DELHI: Only one woman filmmaker – Jane Campion – has won an award in the Palme d’Or at Cannes in the past 50 years.
Revealing this, Swedish Film Institute CEO Anna Serner also revealed that only 54 of the thousand-plus films that have competed for the Palme d’Or at Cannes in the past 50 years have been made by women.
Additionally, only one woman – Kathryn Bigelow – of the four women from the more than four hundred who have been nominated for an Oscar for best director has won.
The facts were revealed at a press conference held in Cannes to mark the 50th anniversary of the Swedish Film Institute.
Serner introduced an international equality initiative for films. “In Sweden women have directed roughly ten per cent of all feature films over the last fifty years”, said Serner.
Furthermore, eight women have won the Swedish National Film Award for best director in the last fifty years, five of them in the last ten years
Serner put forth an equality package of mentoring, an inside look at the industry and a study of women who are about to make their first feature. She urged film industries, filmmakers, producers and film festivals around the world to look at this question and help to bring about international equality.
Announcement was also made about new projects including the upcoming Waltz for Monica to be released in December about the Swedish jazz singer Monica Zetterlund. Directed by Per Fly and written by Peter Birro, the film also stars Edda Magnason as the talented vocalist who died tragically in 2005 from a fire in her apartment. Magnason, Birro and Fly all attended the anniversary dinner.
International
Council of Europe to unveil new TV and streaming co-production convention
Series Mania Forum to host landmark signing to boost global TV collaboration
LILLE: The small screen is getting a big policy push. At this year’s Series Mania Forum in Lille, Alain Berset will take centre stage to chair the opening ceremony for a new international convention aimed at reshaping how television and streaming series are co-produced across borders.
Set for March 26 at the Théâtre Marie Curie in Lille Grand Palais, the signing marks the debut of the first legal framework dedicated specifically to the independent co-production of series. In an industry where stories travel faster than ever, the move aims to make collaboration smoother, fairer and more transparent.
Backed by the Council of Europe, the convention is designed to strengthen cultural ties, give independent producers a firmer footing, and bring greater clarity to deals in a rapidly evolving content landscape. With streaming platforms fuelling a surge in global storytelling, the timing feels deliberate.
Council of Europe secretary general Alain Berset, underscored the cultural heft of series today, noting how they carry voices and viewpoints across borders. He called on member states and countries beyond Europe to sign on, framing the initiative as a way to turn culture into a tool for cooperation and democratic exchange.
For Series Mania founder and general director Laurence Herszberg, hosting the signing is both symbolic and strategic. She described the convention as a step that could widen the range of stories reaching audiences, staying true to the forum’s long-standing mission of championing diverse storytelling.
The ceremony will unfold alongside the Lille Dialogues, a high-level summit that gathers policymakers and industry leaders to debate the future of Europe’s audiovisual sector. Berset is also set to deliver the opening address there, adding political weight to a week already rich in creative ambition.
In short, as screens multiply and borders blur, Europe is putting a framework in place to ensure that storytelling keeps pace, collaboratively and coherently.
