Maggie Gyllenhaal on the Door that “Cracked Open” in Hollywood

“

Do you know how hard it was to get the money for that movie, which was about a 40-year-old woman and the consequences of what happens when you starve a woman’s mind?”

Maggie Gyllenhaal

fervently questions when we talk about her newest Netflix film,

The Kindergarten Teacher

. We’re sitting in the rosebud-wallpapered front hall of the Campbell House, a setting that has the old-world charm seemingly right out of a Virginia Woolf novel—befitting for reasons we’ll get into in just a moment. Martha Wainwright is rehearsing upstairs for a private garden concert later in the evening. Gyllenhaal pauses to take in the melody echoing down the stairs before she tells me about her newest role as Independent Film Advisor for

Autograph Collection

’s

Indie Film Project

Screenwriters in Residence program, which offers three emerging female screenwriters a room at any Autograph property around the world to get inspired and put their ideas to paper. Inspired by Virginia Woolf’s

A Room of One’s Own

—see how it came full circle?— Gyllenhaal opens up about her own personal challenges of being a woman in the film industry (even now) and why empowering young females is important.

[Listicle particle error: Unhandled HTML element 'big' in post 2650786225 (context: Element not in supported or skip lists) Element HTML: There’s such a craving for diversity in voice. How do you think the industry is facilitating that evolution? ]

[Listicle particle error: Unhandled HTML element 'big' in post 2650786225 (context: Element not in supported or skip lists) Element HTML: Have you ever faced any challenges in your career because you’re a woman?]

[Listicle particle error: Unhandled HTML element 'big' in post 2650786225 (context: Element not in supported or skip lists) Element HTML: The Screenwriters in Residence program is offering a space for screenwriters to find inspiration. Do you have a sacred space of your own?]