Barbra Streisand has given a rare interview in front of an audience for the Tribeca Film Festival’s Tribeca Talk series.

In a wide-ranging discussion with film director Robert Rodriguez she announced, to the delight of the audience, that she was working on an autobiography, that she believed female critics were harder on her than male ones, and that the institutional sexism of the movie business had harmed her career.

Streisand told Rodriguez that both Yentl and Prince of Tides – films that she directed as well as appeared in – were penalised when it came to the Academy Awards because a great many older Academy members were not comfortable with the idea of handing the statuette to a female director.

Rodriguez said that he believed Streisand had blazed a trail for other women to follow, but she said that there were still too few women on the "other" side of the camera..

“Not enough women are directing now. I love when I see a woman’s name on the film, and then I want to see it be good," she said. 

While the director of El Mariachi, Sin City and Planet Terror might seem an offbeat choice to interview the reclusive star, he said that she had been a major inspiration to him when he started out to make films.

“You inspired me to go into an industry where I felt I didn’t have a voice,” he said.

“I directed because I couldn’t be heard,” Streisand replied.