The Oscar-winning actress was part of a panel at the sixth edition of Berlinale Series Market, where she discussed her new series, Stateless and also spoke up about Harvey Weinstein’s conviction.
Two-time Academy Award winning actress and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, Cate Blanchett was on a panel at the recently held Berlinale Series Market 2020. Now in its sixth year, the Berlinale Series Market has become a fixture on the global TV industry circuit.
At the event, the actress, producer and humanitarian, discussed her latest Australian immigration series, titled Stateless. Blanchett co-created the series as well as executive produced it with Tony Ayres and Elise McCredie.
The series, about four strangers fleeing difficult pasts cross paths in an immigration detention center in the Australian desert, was one of the eight series that was screened at the Berlin Film Festival’s TV sidebar.
Besides discussing her latest project, Blanchett also opened up about Harvey Weinstein’s conviction. Blanchett, who appeared in Weinstein produced films such as The Aviator, Carol and The Shipping News, previously confirmed to Variety that the disgraced producer had acted inappropriately towards her.
Speaking on the matter during Berlinale Series Market 2020, the actress and producer urged the industry to move forward and ensure a new culture is established, particularly around gender parity in off-screen roles.
“I think it’s about moving forward, and moving forward without repetition and with genuine progress,” Blanchett told Variety.
She continued, “I don’t think anyone involved in the Weinstein case — and the myriad of cases not just in our industry but in every single industry, whether they are sexual or otherwise — no one is interested in vengeance, they’re interested in justice and genuine change.”
According to Blanchett, she had already seen tangible change in the film industry since the #MeToo movement was catapulted, shortly after accusations around Weinstein’s predatory behaviour emerged in 2017.
“I think women in the film industry — and I use the film industry as an exemplar, not as an exception — have for far too long been separated from one another,” Blanchett furthered. “I’ve noticed a way in which some lines between women who are creating work have deepened — circling the wagons not in an exclusive sense but just being more open about roadblocks or difficulties or moments of failure.”
Moreover she added that the number of women working on film sets have risen dramatically from her early days in the business. She recalled being “one woman to 35 men. I’ve been doing this for 20 years — I’ve been the only woman in front of the camera or as a crewmember for 20 years. But in the last couple of years I did Mrs America and Stateless, there was parity. And I thought I really enjoy this. It’s about making that change permanent.”
– With information from Variety
