Michael Barker and Tom Bernard, who co-founded Sony Pictures Classics and often usher Sundance movies to Oscar success, said they have produced films by 59 female filmmakers, but that a lot of those filmmakers have struggled to find success elsewhere. “I don’t think women have been given those opportunities after their experience with us from all these other companies, and I think it’s right to stand up and say they deserve more attention than they were given,” Barker said.

“I think that her character resonates in a remarkable way that frankly I don’t think any of us could have really seen coming. She is a feminist icon, but it is her own brand of feminism,” he said.