Producer of Riga-shot film "The Unknown Woman": women in the film industry are used to being lonely
The historical drama "The Unknown Woman", shot in Riga, achieved success at the Venice Film Festival in early September. Its producer, Mikael Rix, told Latvian Radio how viewing habits shape the audience for films made by women.
"The Unknown Woman", a historical drama shot in Riga, achieved success at the Venice Film Festival in early September. The festival is regarded as one of the most prestigious in the world. The film's producer, Mikael Rix, appeared on the Latvian Radio programme "Kultūras rondo" and described how, in his view, viewing habits affect the audience for films made by women.
The film was directed by Danish filmmaker Maja el Touhi. It was created through cooperation among filmmakers from Denmark, Sweden and Latvia. This year it also opened the Riga International Film Festival (Riga IFF). When news of the Venice success reached Latvia in early September, most viewers knew neither the film nor its director, which fits the ironic note in the title itself.
The producer's view
Rix pointed to a problem in how people choose what to watch. According to him, men mostly watch films made by other men about men, and women watch such films too. But women also watch films made by other women, while men do not.
The headline of the interview presents the producer's remark as a statement that women in the film industry have grown used to being lonely. In this way he links the place of women directors and women's stories in cinema to the audience that actually watches these films.
Rix spoke as a representative of the film's international creative team, and his words reflect a producer's view of how films reach their viewers.
