12 Women Who Ruled Cannes
From Jane Campion to Naomi Kawase, these women have made lasting impressions at Cannes
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The Powerful Women of Cannes
Across 69 editions, the Cannes Film Festival has long recognized the work of auteurs from around the globe. One problem? The majority of them are men. Only 10 women have served as Jury President: Olivia de Havilland (the first woman to do so in 1965), Sophia Loren (1966), Michele Morgan (1971), Ingrid Bergman (1973), Jeanne Moreau (1975 and 1995), Francoise Sagan (1979), Isabelle Adjani (1997), Liv Ullmann (2001), Isabelle Huppert (1999), and Jane Campion (2014). One female director (Campion) has won the festival’s top prize, the Palme d’Or, since the event’s inception, despite top industry voices consistently calling for equal gender representation on what is arguably the world’s most influential stage for international filmmakers.
Of the 21 features competing for the 2016 Palme d’Or, three were directed by women: Maren Ade’s Toni Erdmann (which received stunning reviews), Andrea Arnold’s American Honey, and Nicole Garcia’s From the Land of the Moon. Still, women have captured some of the biggest headlines coming out of this year’s event, including Susan Sarandon taking a stand against the festival’s unwritten rule requiring women to wear high heels to screenings, the high-profile premiere of (and sustained standing ovation for) Jodie Foster’s fourth directorial effort, Money Monster, the critically-lauded performance of Ruth Negga in Jeff Nichols’ Loving, and Kristen Stewart starring in two festival titles: Woody Allen’s Cafe Society and Olivier Assayas’ Personal Shopper.
Though the Cannes competition has yet to feature an even split between films directed by men and women, the festival has recognized the work of select female directors and actresses in the past. Check out the powerful women who’ve made a memorable impression at Cannes over the years, ahead.
Image Credit: Reporters Associes/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images; Pool Apesteguy/Benainous/Duclos/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images; Jeff Vespa/WireImage; Tony Barson Archive/WireImage
May 20 2016 — 8:50 AM EDT
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