Cate Blanchett Named Jury President Of 71st Cannes Film Festival

Cate Blanchett Named Jury President Of 71st Cannes Film Festival

Australian actor Cate Blanchett has been named jury president of the 71st Cannes Film Festival, opening May 8. She follows Spanish director Pedro Almodovar and becomes the 12th woman to head the Cannes jury.

Responding to the announcement, Blanchett said: “I have been to Cannes in many guises over the years; as an actress, producer, in the marketplace, the Gala-sphere and in Competition but never solely for the sheer pleasure of watching the cornucopia of films this great festival harbours.”

Blanchett, a two-time Oscar-winner, is prominent in the Hollywood campaign against sexual harassment. She is one of 300 influential women who launched 'Time's Up' on New Year's Day. 

Catherine Deneuve & Emmanuelle Bercot Open 2015 Cannes Film Festival With 'La Tete Haute'

Cannes 2015 opener ‘La Tete Haute’ stars Catherine Deneuve (l) and is written and directed by Emmanuelle Bercot(r)

French actress-director Emmanuelle Bercot’s film ‘La Tete Haute’ starring Catherine Deneuve will open the 2015 Cannes Film Festival on May 13.

The last time a female director opened the festival was 1987, when Diane Kury’s ‘A Man in Love’ launched the Cannes event. Bercot also stars in Maiwenn’s ‘Mon Roi’, a French film that’s a strong favorite to premiere in the official selection. Variety writes:

Observers close to the festival noted that, after a run of splashy, star-powered opening entries (“Midnight in Paris,” “Moonrise Kingdom,” “The Great Gatsby,” “Grace of Monaco”), festival topper Thierry Fremaux had been looking specifically for a French entry to kick off the festivities, especially in a year when the main competition jury is being presided over by two American directors, Joel and Ethan Coen. The last time a solely French-produced film opened Cannes was in 2005, with Dominik Moll’s “Lemming.”

The French film — whose title translates as “holding one’s head high” — narrates the story of a juvenile delinquent, a committed social worker trying to save him, and a children’s court judge

The Cannes Film Festivval runs May 13-24.