In a fervent address at a women’s luncheon hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, acclaimed actress and director Kristen Stewart expressed her profound frustration over the stagnation and regression of progress for female filmmakers in Hollywood. The event, held in Los Angeles, saw Stewart, known for her role in the Twilight series and her directorial work on the upcoming film *The Chronology of Water*, delivering a powerful critique of the industry’s treatment of women post-MeToo. ‘The backsliding from a brief moment of progress is statistically devastating,’ Stewart lamented. ‘Such a pitiful number of films from the past year have been made by women.’ Citing *The Celluloid Ceiling* report, she highlighted that only 11 of the top 100 grossing films in 2024 were directed by women, a decline from 16 in 2020. Stewart recounted the initial optimism following the MeToo movement, which had spurred a reckoning in Hollywood regarding gender representation both on and off-screen. However, she emphasized the ongoing challenges faced by women in the industry, particularly when their work delves into darker or taboo subjects. ‘The violence of silencing is pervasive,’ she stated. ‘It’s like we’re not even supposed to be angry. But I can eat this podium with a fork and knife. I’m so angry.’ Her speech, which lasted seven minutes, was met with multiple rounds of applause from attendees, including prominent figures like Sarah Paulson, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Tessa Thompson. Stewart concluded with a call to action, urging women to resist tokenism and assert their creative autonomy. ‘Let’s try and not be tokenized. Let’s start printing our own currency,’ she declared. Despite the presence of films by acclaimed female directors such as Chloé Zhao, Kathryn Bigelow, and Mona Fastvold in the upcoming Oscars race, the best director category is once again anticipated to be predominantly male.