Lately, Pamela Abdy feels “pure, unadulterated rage.”
Abdy left his role as co-chair and general manager from Warner Bros. after the studio was acquired by Paramount Skydance as part of a controversial merger which closed last month.
The former studio head received the first Vanguard Award at Women in cinema Honorary Gala on Thursday evening. She thanked all the directors, producers and executives she has worked with throughout her career, including Greta Gerwig, Emerald Fennell, Zoë Kravitz, Margot Robbie, Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, to whom she feels ever-increasing gratitude.
“But lately other feelings, and one in particular, have surfaced with undeniable ferocity, and that feeling is pure, unadulterated rage,” she said on stage in the opulent Beverly Hilton ballroom. “Rage for these women, rage for me and even more rage for the entire generation of women who deserve to have their potential recognized and elevated. »
“It’s angry at the way women are attacked everywhere,” she continued. “Rage that our health and well-being always seem to come second to how we present ourselves in a room. And here’s the thing: As a leader who happens to be a woman, I’m supposed to sublimate that rage. And you know what happens when they tell you to cool the fever? Sometimes it burns even more.” (All onstage remarks were interpreted into ASL by Keturah Holiday and Amber Berteloot.)
“When I was researching the term avant-garde, I came across a few meanings,” Pamela Abdy said at the 2026 Women in Film Honors gala, where she received the inaugural Vanguard Award. It can mean “a leader who brings new ideas, political movements, or art.”
(Nicole Single/Getty Images)
She was described as difficult, emotional and combative, Abdy said. He was told to put on his “big boy pants” to smile more. She was told that films starring women and directed by women did not make as much money as those directed by men and that their audiences were limited. (Even after “Barbie,” which she oversaw alongside Mike De Luca, grossed more than $1.4 billion.)
“It’s getting harder, not easier, to be a woman in the industry,” Abdy said. “We tell ourselves that because a few of us got into these presidential seats, we broke through, that we paved the way for the next generation. But I don’t think that’s true.”
When Gerwig directed “Barbie,” people consistently referred to her as a “director,” Abdy said, not a “director.” But when people talk about the highest-grossing male directors, they don’t call them “male directors.” We always have the “Most Influential Women in Hollywood” lists. But men don’t have a separate list; they are the list, she added.
“So I must ask: what business do we leave to the future avant-gardes? » said Abdy. “Is this a healthy industry for the next generation of storytellers and leaders to jump into? One that allows women to enter it with open hearts and minds, without having to fight the battles we’re still fighting?”
“These are the questions I think about when I focus on channeling my rage,” she continued. “Rage can be destructive, but I see it as fuel, as something that can shine, something that can be harnessed to fight for what we think is right, what we believe in, and what we deserve. »
Jane Fonda, right, presented Salma Hayek Pinault with the Jane Fonda Humanitarian Award at the Women in Film Honors gala on Thursday.
(Nicole Single/Getty Images)
Abdy then paused to acknowledge how heartwarming it was to see so many women elected in Tuesday’s midterms. Earlier in the evening, WIF Executive Director Kirsten Schaffer shouted out Keisha Lance Bottoms, the first Black woman elected governor of a state in Georgia; Gina Hinojosa, the first Latino governor elected in Texas; and the six transgender and non-binary candidates who made history.
Filmmaker Nancy Meyers, who presented Abdy with her honor, praised Abdy and De Luca’s historic tenure: “Barbie” is the highest-grossing film in Warner Bros. history. “Sinners” set an Oscar record with the most nominations ever for a single film. And last year’s best picture winner, “One Battle After Another,” was “another feather in Pam’s very full cap.”
After Meyers’ introduction, a trailer played Abdy’s biggest hits, including video submissions from some of his industry friends: Gerwig, Robbie, Kidman, Bullock and Ryan Coogler, among others.
Bullock cheekily reminded Abdy that when she accepts her award, “remember that when they gave it to you, you were originally employed at the place where you are no longer employed.” Then, when Bullock “realizes” it’s the WIF Honors gala, she backtracks. “Whatever, forget everything I just said. Say whatever you want to say, brag. They love you.”
This seemed, for the most part, true for the hundreds of women in attendance. As soon as Abdy turned his speech toward rage, a slight “preach!” rang out somewhere in the ballroom. The 15-minute speech was greeted with a standing ovation.
At the Women in Film Honors gala, WIF Executive Director Kirsten Schaffer asked, “What stories are being brought to the big screen? What vision of the future are we living in?”
(Nicole Single/Getty Images)
“In the Hollywood executive suites, in the last three months, we lost 50 percent of our top female executives, which was a big blow because it’s not like we had that many to begin with,” Schaffer said. “So what are we going to do about it? At WIF, we have a very simple answer: We keep going. We keep opening doors. We keep investing in each other. We keep hiring each other. We keep encouraging the next generation of storytellers.”
Abdy wasn’t the only winner Thursday night. Jane Fonda presented Salma Hayek Pinault with the Jane Fonda Humanitarian Prize for her philanthropic work, notably with the Kering Foundation (created by her husband’s luxury group), which fight against gender-based violence in the United States, Mexico, France, Italy, Korea and the United Kingdom, Hayek Pinault dedicated the prize to Dolores Huerta, who died last week and attended the gala last yearand called Huerta “the belly for our community.”
Sharon Stone presented Hannah Waddingham with the Crystal Award for Television Advocacy, and Maria Giulia Prezioso Maramotti (granddaughter of Italian clothing brand founder Max Mara, who sponsored the event) presented actress Adria Arjona with the WIF Max Mara Face of the Future Award. Emmy Rossum presented writer, director and producer Beth de Araújo and actress Gemma Chan (in absentia) with the Crystal Award for Advocacy in Film for their upcoming film “Josephine,” about a young girl who witnesses sexual assault.
Beth de Araújo – who wrote, directed and produced the upcoming film “Josephine” – received the Crystal Award for Advocacy in Film (along with star Gemma Chan, in absentia) at the gala.
(Nicole Single/Getty Images)
“In our film ‘Joséphine,’ we try to take you back to your youth, to a time when you didn’t understand the concept of sexual assault,” De Araújo said. “What happened to you once you became aware of it? How did it begin to influence the way you moved your body through the world, the way you thought about your own safety?”
“For me, I was definitely very, very scared and I hid. I locked myself inside so that there would be barriers between me and the danger,” she continued, crying. “But I’m very tired of being afraid. It’s time for those who engage in violence to be afraid of us.”
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