In Paris the Césars academy continues to honour , who received an award this year, and he remains a member of the academy. The en masse resignation in March by its members, the remarkable storming out by actress and the article by feminist writer gave grounds however for hope. The male gaze, the reductive look by men at women, has today been more than ever challenged in theory (1) and in the way films are made, notably by . Cineffable has been contributing for the past 32 years to broadcasting films about the way women look at other women: dignified looks, of respect, love, pride, sometimes of desire, of complicity. This year our selection of films will again show this: it is more limited but still as ambitious, varied, astonishing. And international.

This year, not being within our usual four walls, we are sharing these looks in open places which are open not only to all women, but also to all men, in a mixed arrangement. For once we are breaking with tradition. We are therefore also inviting gentlemen to discover this special look, the radical opposite of the male gaze because it increases the stature of those it looks at. We were forced by circumstances, and we hope they will contribute to widening perceptions and minds, to get us better understood if not better regarded. In this way we have turned constraints into an opportunity. Make the most of it to invite along your friends, brothers and boyfriends to get to know the festival. It is probably a one-off opportunity!

(1) By in Le Regard féminin, une révolution à l'écran, L'Olivier, 2020.