Women are Taking Over Cannes Film Festival and We’re *Totally* Here for It
Olivia Taylor (she/her) is a writer, self-proclaimed reality TV buff and uses "Real Housewives" references unironically. Her camera roll is filled with Twitter screenshots and she will definitely talk your ear off for as long as you will let her. Find more of her pop culture ramblings just about anywhere on the internet.
Ladies, rise up! The lineup for the 76th Cannes Film Festival was just revealed, and it’s full of bad*ss women in film.
The Official Selection (AKA the festival’s setlist) includes a record number of films by female filmmakers, all of which are set to debut during Competition (the selection of films considered for the festival’s highest award, Palme d’Or).
The Competition will feature six films directed by women, up from last year’s five, which is a slight improvement. Additionally, the Official Selection boasts 14 titles with female filmmakers at the helm, well below the 50% mark but up from nine films in 2022.
Cannes has a long history of criticism for their lack of inclusivity, both demographically and in their refusal to welcome those changing the current film landscape. This year they made *some* strides towards greater representation, but TBH there’s way more room for growth (I mean, only 27% of the featured films are directed by women!).
Thierry Frémaux, the festival’s delegate general (the guy in charge of putting together the competition list), is expected to add a few more additions in the coming weeks, but for now you can expect to see La Chimera (Alice Rohrwacher), Club Zero (Jessica Hausner), Last Summer (Catherine Breillat), Anatomie d’une chute (Justine Triet), Banel et Adama (Ramata-Toulaye Sy), and Olfa’s Daughters (Kaouther Ben Hania).
Other highly-anticipated films include Maïwenn’s Jeanne du Barry, starring Johnny Depp as King Louis XV, Steve McQueen’s WW2 documentary Occupied City, Takeshi Kitano’s Kubi and HBO’s widely-criticized The Idol from Sam Levinson.
Sam Levinson and the Weeknd allegedly turned the upcoming HBO series The Idol into what members of production describe as “sexual torture porn” and the “rape fantasy” of a “toxic man” https://t.co/Q0IPCBzPng
— Vulture (@vulture) April 13, 2023
We’d be remiss not to mention the next-level style bound to grace the festival’s infamous red carpet (How can you forget Anne Hathaway’s iconic fits from 2022?!)
All I’ve been able to think about is Anne Hathaway at Cannes pic.twitter.com/QCDJWrNXu5
— Gibson Johns (@gibsonoma) May 22, 2022
Hopefully we can expect to see more women featured at Cannes in the future, but for now we will definitely be tuning into all 14 female led films and cheering them on from our living rooms.
The glitzy, star-studded event is set to begin May 16 and run through the 27th.
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Photo Courtesy of Cannes Film Festival
Olivia Taylor (she/her) is a writer, self-proclaimed reality TV buff and uses "Real Housewives" references unironically. Her camera roll is filled with Twitter screenshots and she will definitely talk your ear off for as long as you will let her. Find more of her pop culture ramblings just about anywhere on the internet.
