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Director Sam Mendes at a pre-Oscar 2020 event
Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images
Will there soon be only one award for the best acting performance at film awards instead of two?
Director Sam Mendes considers this development to be "inevitable."
In his opinion, a gender-specific distinction would soon no longer be up-to-date.
This is what Mendes said in an interview with the British television channel BBC.
The director of films such as »American Beauty« and »James Bond: Spectre« is thus reiterating the demands made by various colleagues in recent years.
Most recently, Emma Corrin, who plays Princess Diana in the Netflix series The Crown, addressed the issue publicly.
When asked about it, Mendes said he absolutely sympathized with the idea and believed that this development would "ultimately be inevitable."
The topic has also been discussed in Germany for several years.
Since 2021, the Berlinale has only been awarding gender-neutral prizes.
One for best leading role, one for best supporting role.
While many hailed this as progress, the decision also drew significant criticism, including from advocates of equality.
For example, the German Acting Association and Pro Quote Film argued that gender neutrality in the awards would disadvantage women.
After all, women are still less often offered meaningful, supporting roles than men.
It is more difficult to assert yourself against your colleagues in a direct comparison than if there were gender-specific prizes.
So far, this concern has not come true: in the first two years since the introduction of the gender-neutral awards, only women have won the awards for best leading and supporting roles.
Director Mendes sees the abolition of gender categories from another perspective.
"People often forget that award shows are TV shows," he says in the BBC interview.
"They exist to promote films." Means: gender-neutral film awards are not automatically a political statement by those responsible, but could also simply reflect what the viewers want.
According to Mendes, it's about a good show that ultimately increases the income from the films.
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