Maggie Gyllenhaal on subverting female stereotypes at Karlovy Vary
Maggie Gyllenhaal is subverting female cinematic stereotypes not to break taboos, but to make space for authentic women's experiences on screen. Honored at Karlovy Vary, she told press that with only two films—The Lost Daughter and The Bride—she has already challenged more than a century of how Hollywood portrays women. Gyllenhaal received the festival's President's Award and spoke to international reporters from the Grand Hotel Pupp on Saturday.
Key Takeaways
- Gyllenhaal received Karlovy Vary's President's Award after two films that challenged how women are portrayed on screen.
- She says she is not chasing taboo-busting headlines — she wants room for her own experience and that of her collaborators.
- The Lost Daughter and The Bride reframed motherhood and the Bride of Frankenstein with agency and complexity.
- She is developing Rachel Kushner's Creation Lake with Warner Bros. despite The Bride's box office.
- Her directing philosophy favors multifaceted women over one-note "strong female characters."
Why does Maggie Gyllenhaal say she is subverting female stereotypes?
In only two directorial outings, Karlovy Vary honoree Maggie Gyllenhaal has managed to subvert more than 100 years of cinematic female stereotypes, according to Variety. The Lost Daughter acknowledged the darker aspects of motherhood and what is expected of women, while The Bride gave the Bride of Frankenstein agency and autonomy.
Gyllenhaal received the President's Award on Friday at the festival's opening night ceremony and spoke to press on Saturday from the neo-baroque Grand Hotel Pupp in Karlovy Vary. She argued that because movies have "been made by men" for most of cinema's history, even fascinating female characters often miss the parts of feminine experience that women hide or feel ashamed to share.
Did she set out to break taboos?
When asked if she was trying to break down barriers, Gyllenhaal said no. "I'm just trying to make space for my own experience to be expressed, to make space for ['The Bride's'] Jessie Buckley's experience to be expressed, to make space for my production designer's experience to be expressed," she told reporters.
She added that it is not that she is interested in breaking taboos — it just comes off that way because so few women have been making movies. "It seems like these things are off-limits. It's just they haven't been explored," she said. "And I did not expect to make people so angry by exploring them."
What kind of female characters does she want to see?
Gyllenhaal said she is not really interested in "strong female characters." She wants depictions of women she can recognize from her own life — "some strength, some terrible weakness, some beautiful weakness and vulnerability, some pleasure, some terror — the whole spectrum."
Reading Elena Ferrante's novel The Lost Daughter, she recalled thinking as a mother: "Are you so fucked up? Hold on, I actually relate to what you're saying." Hearing those feelings spoken aloud brought comfort, she said — a reminder of why she moved from acting into writing and directing.
What is next for Gyllenhaal after Karlovy Vary?
Despite The Bride's box office, Gyllenhaal is back in business with Warner Bros., adapting Rachel Kushner's critically acclaimed bestseller Creation Lake. She said she was "completely surprised" that news of the book's option "ended up in the press" and is still at the private, early stage of shaping the project.
She praised Warner Bros. chiefs Pam Abdy and Mike De Luca as "lovers of film and lovers of filmmakers." For more festival and streaming coverage, see our Streaming & TV Alerts hub.