These are the five women of the jury of the 71st Cannes Film Festival
This 2018 the most important awards ceremony of the cinema is marked by the majority presence of women in the jury
Last Tuesday, May 8, the most important Film Festival in the world began. The Cannes Film Festival is the event in which actors, writers, producers and directors meet to appreciate and qualify a select number of films of the most acclaimed directors and the new promises of the seventh art. The greatness of its guests, a large international participation and a distinguished jury, chaired by Cate Blanchett, are some of the attractions that show that this new edition seeks to make history.
Leer en español: Conozca a las cinco mujeres del jurado del 71° Festival de Cannes
Thierry Frémaux, director of the festival, already anticipated that the sex scandals that shook the cinema in 2017 would change Cannes forever. Today we see that these changes have come with the selection of up to five women within a jury of nine members, leaving women with a greater representation than men for the first time in history.
The female representation of this year's jury is made up of actresses Cate Blanchett, Kristen Stewart, Léa Seydoux, American screenwriter Ava DuVernay and Burundian singer Khadja Nin.
Cate Blanchett , the 48-year-old Oscar-winning actress, is the 12th president of the jury in 71 editions and the first since 2014. Blanchett, known for films such as 'Blue Jasmine' or 'The Aviator', was one of the first women to publicly denounced producer Harvey Weinstein for sexual harassment and is a female symbol of the industry. She has also participated in more than 50 films in the last 30 years, has won three Golden Globes, three BAFTA Awards, three awards from the Screen Actors Guild, one Oscar as Best Actress and another as Best Supporting Actress. She is currently waiting for the premiere of her new film 'Ocean's 8', which is characterized by having a mainly female cast.
Kristen Stewart is recognized for her role in the 'Twilight' saga and for films like 'IGNORE INTO the Wild' or 'Panic Room'. She also won the Rising Star Award at the 2010 BAFTA, as well as multiple MTV Awards and Teen Choice Awards. The 28-year-old female is also the image of Chanel in Paris and debuted in 2017 as a director at the Sundance Film Festival with the short film 'Come Swim'.
Léa Seydoux, a 33-year-old French actress, has participated in more than 30 films in the last 15 years. She is a reference of French cinema, in which she has participated more frequently. She rose to fame with her participation in the film 'La Belle Personne', interpretation that earned her a nomination for the César Award. In 2013 she won the Cannes Golden Palm for her participation in the film 'La vida de Adèle' and in 2014 she was nominated for the BAFTA awards as Rising Star.
Ava DuVernay is a 46-year-old director, producer, documentary filmmaker, journalist and screenwriter from the United States, who began her first years as a delegate of the CBS journalism network. DuVernay won the Best Director award at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival with her second feature film entitled 'Middle of Nowhere', becoming the first African-descendant woman to win the award. She was also the first African woman to get a Best Film nomination at the Oscars for her feature film 'Selma'.
Khadja Nin, born in Burundi, is the youngest of her family. At the age of seven years her extraordinary voice made her one of the main vocalists of a choir called Bujumbura. Today she is a musician and singer of 59 years, who is recognized for her record work 'Sambolera' which has been performed in more than five languages, including Swahili, Kirundi and French. Using a mixture of African rhythms and modern pop she has been impacting with a unique style. One of her most popular songs is 'Sina Mali, Sina Deni', a translated cover version of Stevie Wonder's 'Free' song.
The remaining four members of the jury are composed of director Denis Villeneuve, actor and director Robert Guédiguian, actor Chang Chen and director Andrei Zvyagintsev. They have expressed, from the voice of its president, that although the festival has a clear feminist message, no prize will be awarded without merit. However, this edition of the festival is expected to be a starting point for women to have equality within the film industry.
Latin American Post | Carlos Díaz
Translated from "Conozca a las cinco mujeres del jurado del 71° Festival de Cannes"
