Letter: Women require role models, not cliches

Sir: I was horrified by the article about women directors who are 'Caught between the camera and the cradle' (27 July).

Lord Rees-Mogg's opening suggestion that no women (directors) would make violent programmes is hardly supported by the facts. Women directors are not a homogeneous mass with one brain, as the article implies. Some of us love action and adventure and, yes, violence (the Hollywood director Kathryn Bigelow, for example) and some of us are more interested in making films about relationships/people. Some of us enjoy making different types of films.

Bradley Borum's attempt to examine the old career versus relationship/family argument was superficial. This article could have been written about female stockbrokers or teachers. It does nothing to illuminate the particular demands of directing: long stints working away from home; preparatory weeks of total immersion in the script. Such demands mean that one needs an understanding partner. But then doesn't Michael Winner? The article suggests that a woman director cannot have a successful career and a relationship. Well, I am a director and have managed both for the past 10 years without undue conflict.

Rather than bombarding women with the self-evident problems of their chosen career, would it not be more helpful to provide some sort of balance by discussing women directors who provide an encouraging role model?

Yours faithfully,

ANYA CAMILLERI

(Freelance director)

London, NW3

31 July