Three Arab female directors make Cannes 2020 official selection
Danielle Arbid, Ayten Amin and Maïwenn among record number of female filmmakers honored by the French festival
The physical version of this year’s Cannes Film Festival may have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but on June 3, Thierry Frémaux, the Festival’s General Delegate, released its Official Selection of 56 shortlisted movies, each of which will receive a Cannes 2020 endorsement label to encourage their promotion on release.
“No one knows what the second half of the year may bring and whether it will be possible to organize major film events again in 2020, including the Festival de Cannes,” said Frémaux. “Cannes has therefore decided to adapt its format for this peculiar year.”
Of the record 2,067 Cannes Film Festival submissions, 532 of the movies were made by female directors, and of the 56 selected movies, 16 are by women. While this is a long way from the goal of Collectif 50/50 — the association for gender equality and diversity in cinema launched in 2018 — it’s a good start.
Three of those 16 shortlisted female directors have Arabic heritage; Danielle Arbid from Lebanon, Ayten Amin from Egypt, and French-Algerian director Maïwenn. All three explore facets of female identity, sexuality, and adolescence and family respectively. only loved me on the silver screen,” Maïwenn told Arab News. When she was 15, Maïwenn met director Luc Besson, 31, at the César Awards ceremony. A year later, they married and moved to LA. They split in 1998 after Besson began a relationship with Milla Jovovich, who was playing the lead in his film “The Fifth Element,” in which Maïwenn also had a role.
In a manifesto she publicized as the #metoo movement gained traction, Maïwenn wrote: “I reclaim the right to have power in my work without frightening
‘Passion Simple’ by Danielle Arbid
men.” Her statement ended with, “We’ll get there.”
Maïwenn has now made six feature films, winning the Prix du Jury at Cannes (pictured right) for 2011’s “Polisse,” which she also starred in and wrote. In her latest, “DNA” (pictured above)
Maïwenn plays the lead role of Neige, a woman deeply attached to her Algerian grandfather, who provided a buffer against her toxic parents. When Emir dies, tensions escalate between Neige’s extended family members, triggering a dramatic identity crisis.