Cannes Film Festival focuses on gender equality
The 71st Cannes Film Festival was opening Tuesday with the premiere of Asghar Farhadi’s “Everybody Knows,” but the spotlight at the first post-Harvey Weinstein edition of the glamorous French Rivera gathering was focused on the issue of gender equality.
Ahead of the premiere of the Iranian filmmaker’s Spanish-language debut, starring Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem, Cannes jury president Cate Blanchett introduced the female-majority jury that will decide this year’s Palme d’Or, among the most prestigious honours in cinema.
Blanchett, a prominent member of the Time’s Up initiative, said the #MeToo movement will play a role in this and every following Cannes festival but will not factor into their deliberations.
“Would I like to see more women in competition? Absolutely. Would I expect and hope that that’s going to happen in the future? I hope so,” said Blanchett. “But we’re dealing with what we have that’s here. Our role is to, in this next almost two weeks, is deal with what’s in front of us.”
Competing for the Palme are 21 films, including new releases from directors Spike Lee, Pawel Pawlikowski (the Oscar-winning “Ida”) and Jean-Luc Godard. Three of the films in the competition are directed by women: Nadine Labaki, Eva Husson and Alice Rohrwacher.
Blanchett noted the festival has improved the gender parity of its selection committees. Juries, she noted, have in recent years been split equally, with the president tilting the scales.
Cannes has come under criticism for years for not selecting more women directors. Only one female filmmaker, Jane Campion, has won the Palme.
Lasting change, Blanchett said, will only occur through specific actions over time to narrow the gender gap and improve diversity in the world of filmmaking.
“Is (#MeToo) going to have a direct impact on the film in competition this year, six nine months on? Not specifically,” said the Australian actress. “There are several women in competition. But they’re not there because of their gender. They are there because of the quality of their work. We will assess them as filmmakers, as we should.”
Still, the shadow of disgraced film mogul Weinstein is looming over this year’s Cannes. For two decades, Weinstein had been an omnipresent fig- ure at the festival, where several of his alleged sex crimes took place.
This year, Cannes has established a hotline for sexual harassment victims at the festival.