Rohrwacher, who was one of just three female directors in competition last year, superbly said: “People keep asking us what it’s like to be a woman director. It’s a bit like asking someone who’s survived a shipwreck why they’re still alive. Well, ask the person who built the boat. Ask the people who run film schools. Ask the people behind the scenes. It’s not at the very end that we need to raise these issues – it needs to happen at the very beginning.”

Basically: these questions need to be directed at the people who actually hold the cards in the film industry.

Her spot-on comment came the day after artistic director Thierry Frémaux defended the festival against claims that it failed to include enough female film-makers. Frémaux’s argument was that the festival’s percentage of films directed by women – 20 % – was significantly higher than the 7% of female directors working in the film industry overall. He did, however, agree that the finger of blame should be pointed at the film schools, universities and production houses.

Cannes 2019: This director perfectly sums up why you shouldn't ask this question about sexism