Nicole Kidman used her presence at this year’s Cannes Film Festival to reaffirm her ongoing pledge to support women in the film industry, nearly seven years after she first committed to working with more female directors.
Speaking at the Women in Motion dinner hosted in Cannes on Sunday, the Australian actress said she remains dedicated to the promise she made in 2017, emphasizing that the work is far from over. “I’m just an advocate and want to continue to keep moving forward with that, with my pledge from 2017, so it ain’t over,” Kidman said.
The event, organized as part of a program launched in 2015 by the luxury group Kering, drew an impressive guest list. Among the attendees were Charli XCX, Paul Mescal, Dakota Johnson, Julianne Moore, Patrick Schwarzenegger, and filmmaker Guillermo del Toro.
Earlier in the day, Kidman revealed to reporters that she has collaborated with 27 female directors since making her pledge, including work currently in progress. “Part of it is protecting and surrounding the women with almost like a force field of protection and support,” she said.
Brazilian filmmaker Marianna Brennand was honoured with the Women in Motion Emerging Talent Award. The award includes a €50,000 grant to support her next feature film.
Also at the event, French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat weighed in on the state of gender representation in cinema. Fargeat, whose film “The Substance” featuring Demi Moore drew wide acclaim at last year’s festival, addressed the slow pace of progress. “If you look at the numbers, unfortunately, the numbers, they don’t change,” she said. “We really need to keep making huge changes and not cosmetic changes.”
According to Women in Motion’s findings, women directors increased to only 13.6% of the top 100 box office films in the U.S. between 2015 and 2024, up from 7.5%. At this year’s Cannes, seven of the 22 films in competition were directed by women, including a film by Julia Ducournau, one of only three women to ever win the Palme d’Or.
