The
Miu Miu Women's Tales conversation on September 3, moderated once again by
Penny Martin and held at the Hotel Excelsior in the space lent by the Veneto Region, featured
Lucy Boynton,
Brit Marling and
Diana Silvers. The trio talked about issues dear to Miu Miu, which has been funding short films made by women directors for years now and can boast a range of initiatives to promote women in the audiovisual industry.
Speaking about her own experiences, Lucy Boynton had this to say, "I've always been the youngest person on the set, and my impression is that I kind of have to fight to make every film I take part in my own. You're always under pressure, you have to be pragmatic and know how to react when things don't go as planned. It's very important to choose the roles that you like, as I did with Bohemian Rhapsody; you don't have to say yes to everything. Knowing how to pick your own roles is fundamental in building a career. As far as the future is concerned, I'm very excited about the debut of The Politician. Ryan Murphy managed to find a nice balance between politics and the character's daily lives. My own character is the classic mean girl in high school, whose father teachers her how to survive in a tough world. You'll be able to catch it starting September 27 on Netflix."
Brit Marling shared her thoughts about The OA, the series recently cancelled by Netflix, and about the entertainment industry today: "On social media the series got enormous support. Sometimes stories can be too specific to touch a large number of people, but fans' support is empowering. After the show was axed there were flash mobs for The OA in Times Square, for example, and a blind woman even had to learn the steps by heart with the help of a choreographer. This kind of support makes you think about making a fresh start with new ideas. Netflix has opened up new frontiers. It takes enormous risks, though not all gambles pay off." As to women in key roles and her own inspiration: "There's a lot of talk about women and how hard it is for them to get ahead. I myself would hire half women writers and half men, but now the experienced writers are male and the women are under a lot of stress. I think that the women in a position to decide who to hire should help other women, considering that the women we see on the big and small screen don't reflect reality, but just men's point of view on their wives and girlfriends. A woman I'd like to work with? Jane Campion, who's one feminist who doesn't get discouraged."
Diana Silvers talked about how she fell in love with acting and made it her career: "When I was twelve or thirteen I already wanted to be an actress. I did a few shows and went to the local theaters, and then studied acting in New York for a while. The very first audition made me realize that this was no hobby. Today, with the streaming platforms, there are a lot more opportunities for actors, more people in the business, more material space for different voices and projects. In my next film, Eve, I'll be acting alongside John Malkovich as a killer for the secret services, a role I've taken to surprisingly well [she laughs - Ed.] And in the future, I'd love to work with Kathryn Bigelow and Greta Gerwig."
After the talk there was time for some questions from the audience and some photos with the fans of Diana, Brit and Lucy, who was accompanied by Rami Malek, her boyfriend, whom she met on the set of Bohemian Rhapsody.
