Sexism lingers beneath surface of film industry like magma, says Rome festival chief

Paola Malanga and assistant put together a programme of more than 160 films showcasing female talent

Prejudice towards women in the film industry lingers beneath the surface like “magma” in a volcano, the artistic director of the Rome film festival has said, before she opened the 18th edition of an event that will showcase more female talent than ever.

Paola Malanga, a former Rai Cinema executive who was hired last year in an effort to remould a festival that over its history has had its highs and lows, said that although women were becomingly increasingly present in “all levels” of the industry, sexist attitudes remained.