Stars including Michelle Rodriguez, Sofía Vergara and Diane Kruger attended a gala Women in Cinema event at the Red Sea Film Festival Friday.
Among those attending were Hollywood A-listers Michelle Williams, Sharon Stone, Baz Luhrmann, Diane Kruger and Freida Pinto.
Diversity and inclusion continues to be the hot topic at this year’s festival, particularly for “Fast & Furious” star Rodriguez.
“I think that there’s a side of humanity that humanity has not allowed to be seen yet. And I think that this little female revolution that’s happened over the course of the last ten years is part of our own human growth to evolve past gender and see us as people who come here to learn and grow. And once we do that and open to that and slowly it’s happening, you’re going to discover that women have a soft power to offer that the world needs right now really bad,” she said.
WATCH: Actors from across the globe attend the Red Sea Film Festival
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Katrina Kaif, one of the highest-paid female actors in India, said progress is being made for women in the entertainment industry.
“I think that we are seeing stronger roles for women in cinema,” said Kaif, “and I’ve seen it evolve a lot in the last few years. I think directors are writing better roles for women. So I’m very happy with what’s happening. I’ve been here for a while now and I think we’re moving in the right direction.”
Colombian-American actor Vergara also welcomes diversity within the industry.
“It has changed a lot for women and not only, you know, and mainly also for minorities, you know, for Black and Latin, and so it has changed. I mean, it’s still not perfect; we still have a long way to go but we can’t complain.”
25-year-old Indian actor Ananya Panday feels “very hopeful” about women’s place in film and television.
“I feel like that is change, even though it’s a little change, it’s still in the right direction and I feel very powerful in my choices. I think that’s something that we have now in this generation. It’s all in our hands. We get to choose the kind of work we do, the kind of women we represent and the kind of women we play on screen, and a lot more opportunities because I think we’ve actually finally started showing women in more real, honest ways,” said Panday.
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German actor Diane Kruger started out as a model and says change can’t come too soon for younger generations.
“When I was coming up in this industry as a young model, there were situations that I didn’t think anything of that I got myself in because I just thought that’s the way the world is. And when I think back now, it’s, like, so inappropriate and I cannot believe I was put into this position, you know. And so, yeah, I want to make sure my daughter’s generation, that will not happen,” said the “Inglourious Basterds” star.
The Red Sea International Film Festival runs through 9th December.
