Blanchett to head Cannes film festival jury
PARIS: Cate Blanchett, the double Oscar-winning actress leading a Hollywood campaign to tackle sexual harassment in the workplace, will head the jury at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, organisers said yesterday.
Australian Blanchett, 48, who helped launch the “Time’s Up” initiative this week following a string of sexual assault accusations against prominent men in the film industry, will become the 12th woman to lead the prestigious panel at Cannes, which kicks off on May 8.
“We’re pleased to welcome a rare and unique artist with talent and conviction,” Cannes president Pierre Lescure and delegate general Thierry Fremaux said.
“Our conversations this autumn convince us she will be a committed president, and a passionate and generous spectator.”
The choice of Blanchett, who was named best actress at the 2014 Academy Awards for her role in Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine, will be seen as politically charged after a year in which the sexual harassment scandal surrounding Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein sparked a deluge of allegations against powerful men in entertainment, politics and the media.
She was one of the first women to speak out against Weinstein, who faces claims of a string of sexual assaults and rapes from more than 100 accusers.
Weinstein had denied some of the accusations.
She was one of over 300 top women in Hollywood, joining the likes of Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lawrence, to unveil the “Time’s Up” initiative on Monday to tackle the pervasive culture of sexual harassment at work.
She succeeds Spanish director Pedro Almodovar as jury head at Cannes, which last year awarded Palme d’Or for the Swedish tragicomedy The Square. AFP