Jessica Chastain plans to work with one female director every year

Jessica Chastain has pledged to make one film a year with a female director in an effort to give women filmmakers a bigger voice in Hollywood.

The actress is an outspoken feminist and she stirred up controversy at the Cannes Film Festival in France in May (17) by pointing out the lack of female-driven projects in competition and the portrayal of women in movies, while serving on the event's jury.

Now, while promoting her new film Woman Walks Ahead at the Toronto International Film Festival in Canada, The Help leading lady has revealed she is keen to use her star quality to give independent female filmmakers a big boost.

"I am making a conscious effort to put my resources in female filmmakers," she told reporters. "I'm not discriminating against men because there's so many male filmmakers that I work with, but once a year I'm gonna work with a woman and I think that the more that people start to do that... that's how you change the (movie) industry."

Chastain, who sits on the advisory board of We Do It Together - a cause which focuses on promoting and creating opportunities for women in the movie business, is also planning to do more work behind the camera to ensure Hollywood becomes a more female-friendly place.

"I'm going to do anything I can to be there and support any organization that empowers and creates opportunities for women," the actress recently told Vanity Fair. "When people tell me, 'I love when you play strong characters', it's not that they are stronger than other women in films. I think the difference is that I play well-written characters. I play women that I authentically recognize in my day-to-day life, and that's what I search for in the roles."