It takes place a year after Julia Ducouranu won the Palme d’Or for ‘Titane’ and became the second woman to receive this honor after Jane Campion, who won in 1993 with ‘El piano’
The 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival is presented with a record number of films directed or co-directed by female filmmakers, demonstrating the organizers’ commitment to show stories through the prism of the female vision. This welcome to the filmmakers comes a year after Julia Ducouranu won the Palme d’Or for ‘Titane’ and became the second woman to receive the honor after Jane Campion, who won in 1993 for ‘The Piano’. The festival’s president, Thierry Fremaux, already announced it in an interview with the specialist magazine ‘Variety’: «We are going to increase the number of female directors because we are committed to them». Fremoux keeps his word and breaks a record for the number of female filmmakers premiering films during the French competition. Among the female-directed films competing in the official section, we find five, which have never been shown at the festival before. Previously, there were four female-directed films as part of the official competition. Cannes first announced Claire Denis, Kelly Reichardt and Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, later adding the films of Charlotte Vandermeersch, co-director of ‘The Eight Mountains’, and Leonor Serraille with ‘Un Petit Frère’. In total, the official selection will present 65 films, both in- and out-of-competition, of which 15 are women-directed or co-directed, which is just under a quarter of the full 2022 festival billboard. The festival also added a surprise series of women-led films to other sections, including Emily Atef’s ‘More Than Ever’, Maha Haj’s ‘Mediterranean Fever’ and Maryam Touzani’s ‘The Blue Caftan’ in Un Certain Regard, as well as Doroteya Droumeva’s ‘The Vagabonds’. and Amandine Fredon’s ‘Little Nicholas’ (co-directed with Benjamin Massoubre) in special screenings. The competition has French actor Vincent Lindon as chairman of the jury, an honor typically reserved for French stars. Lindon includes Rebecca Hall, Noomi Rapace, Deepika Padukone and writer/directors Asghar Farhadi, Ladj Ly, Jeff Nichols and Joachim Trier. Actress and director Jasmine Trinca is also part of the jury and has her directorial debut ‘Marcel!’ within the special presentation program.
In an event that runs parallel to the festival, the two weeks of the directors is on the program. An element that is not part of the festival, but that serves as a springboard for the filmmakers to jump from one year to the next from here to the official part. The Fortnight’s programming is striking and distinctly feminine, including 11 films (out of 23) directed by women. The directors include big names such as Alice Winocour and Mia Hansen-Løve, as well as rising stars such as Anna Rose Holmer, Saela Davis and Léa Mysius. Spanish cinema will also be present in this section with director Elena López Riera presenting her feature film debut ‘El Agua’, starring Luna Pamiés, Bárbara Lennie and Alberto Olmo. “It’s a great reward for a huge effort that we all have put in. A film is a collective work and means the recognition of all the people who contributed to the film,” said López Riera. The filmmaker from Orihuela, who made his debut in the same section in the past with one of her short films, chooses the mythology of water to make his debut with a feature film. “My film is about the complex relationship with water because it is an element we need to live, but it is also about the fears that affect us women.” López Riera adds her name to the list of Spanish directors who have managed to enter international festivals in recent years, such as Clara Roquet, Alauda Ruiz de Azúa or Pilar Palomero. “I’ve already played. We women are gaining ground little by little, although there is still a lot to do. It’s a collective effort that pays off.”
The Critique Week programme, also a side event that is not an official part of the festival, includes a series of films directed by women: Charlotte Wells, Céline Devaux, Cristèle Alves Meira and Emmanuelle Nicot. In the quintessentially progressive Un Certain Regard official section, of the 15 films announced, six are directed or co-directed by women, meaning 40 percent will have a woman behind the camera. Among the notable titles are the film ‘Les Pires’ by Lise Akoka and Romane Gueret, ‘Plan 75’ by the only Japanese director in Cannes Hayakawa Chie, Pony War, the first film co-directed by Elvis Presley’s granddaughter, Riley Keough (along with starring Gina Gammell), ‘Corsage’ by Marie Kreutzer, ‘Rodeo’ by Lola Quivoron, for which no tickets are available, and ‘The Silent Twins’ by Agnieszka Raczynska.
Source: La Verdad
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