Smallest number of film speaking roles for women in five years Perhaps more worrying is the way those actresses who do have speaking parts are styled. Nearly a third, 32.6 per cent, of the female characters who spoke had sexually revealing clothes, the highest percentage in the five years the survey has been compiled. This percentage jumps for teenage girls, where over half (56.6 per cent) were dressed provocatively: a 20 per cent increase on 2007. The survey reflected wider trends in the film industry, in particular the number of female filmmakers, directors, writers and producers. Women made up just 16.7 per cent of the 1,228 involved in the 100 highest-grossing films. These statistics are reflected at this year's Cannes festival. Just one film nominated for the Palme D'Or has been directed by a woman, Un Chateau En Italie by Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, although this is an increase on Cannes 2012, when no female directors were in competition. The report added that there were more female speaking roles in films made by women. In March, actress Helen Mirren used her Empire Legend Award win to speak out about the lack of women in the film industry, criticising Sam Mendes for not naming any women filmmakers in his list of inspiration.