82 women took to the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday to bring awareness to the incredible disparity between men and women at the festival over the decades, as well as to call for gender equality among every facet of the film industry. The demonstration was capped off by Cannes jury president, Cate Blanchett, giving a speech about the state of gender equality in the industry.
“Women are not a minority in the world, yet the current state of our industry says otherwise,” Blanchett said (via Variety). “As women, we all face our own unique challenges, but we stand together on these steps today as a symbol of our determination and our commitment to progress. We are writers, we are producers, we are directors, actresses, cinematographers, talent agents, editors, distributors, sales agents, and all of us are involved in the cinematic arts. And we stand today in solidarity with women of all industries.”
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The speech was co-written by director Agnes Varda, who gave the same speech in French. The demonstration featured Blanchett, Varda, as well as Ava DuVernay, Kristen Stewart, Léa Seydoux, Patty Jenkins, Salma Hayek, and Marion Cotillard.
The specific number 82 was chosen as a symbol for the total number of female-helmed films that have been shown in-competition at the prestigious festival. For comparison’s sake, the total number of male directors who have had films in-competition currently sits at 1,866. So, there’s definitely a clear disparity.
“The stairs of our industry must be accessible to all. Let’s climb,” Varda added.
The demonstration had an immediate effect on the decision-makers at Cannes. Cannes chief Thierry Fremaux (who has been no stranger to controversy leading up to the festival), Critics’ Week head Charles Tesson, and Directors’ Fortnight boss Paolo Moretti signed a pledge on Monday promising greater transparency and gender equality (via Variety).
“I would like to say that the event of the stairs of the Palais last Saturday was extraordinary and should not be. It marks the end of a cycle which started this fall and the beginning of a new chapter,” said Fremaux.
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“Cannes is welcoming all these initiatives to hopefully feed into the consciousness-raising. The world is not the same and that’s a good thing. Now we’re examining our own practices, our history. The statistics speak for themselves…and even if there is a higher proportion of women showing films at Cannes, we’re aware that it’s not enough,” said Fremaux.
This year, Cannes celebrated the fact that three female directors were chosen to premiere in-competition, out of the 18 total films. This ratio is the highest the festival has seen since 2011.
The gender equality pledge signed by #Cannes2018 Thierry Fremaux & toppers of Critics Week and Directors Fortnight pic.twitter.com/uv1zr2iZyl
— Elsa Keslassy (@ElsaKeslassy) May 14, 2018
