Paris (AFP)

In cinema, actresses do not age, they disappear: the share of women employed as actresses in feature films drastically melts from ... 30 years old, according to figures released Thursday by the CNC.

From 25 to 29 years old, young women outnumber their male counterparts (48.6%) (51.4%) in the 1,400 films released between 2009 and 2018, analyzed by the National Center for Cinematography and Film. moving image (CNC).

But their proportion then drops drastically: in French films, the thirty-something characters are 57.5% men and 42.5% women.

And from 50 to 59 years old, women only represent 31.1% of the performers on the sets.

The CNC has also calculated the pay gap between actors and actresses: it is less than 10% before age 50, but it increases afterwards, because the pay of actresses drops with age, not that of actors.

These statistics were published by the CNC as part of the parity meeting organized by the 50/50 collective to advance the subject in the film industry.

A contrasting picture of the situation emerges.

The number of films directed by women has certainly increased by 50% between 2010 and 2019, since 52 films had a woman director in 2010 and 78 (including nine with a female co-director) in 2019. The proportion of women is increasing, but we stay far from that of men since that year, 223 films were made by men.

For the first films, they were 40% (or 28 films) to be directed by women in 2019, against 27% just under ten years ago.

"This indicates that we are undoubtedly seeing the emergence of a new generation of female directors", analyzed the director of studies of the CNC, Benoît Danard.

However, these films remain smaller productions than those of men, with budgets 40% lower.

The proportion of women is increasing in most trades in the sector, even the most technical such as electricians or managers, although they remain in the minority, he added.

Finally, the pay gap remains very significant and peaks for female directors, paid 37% less than female directors.

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