82 Female Actors & Directors Led By Cate Blanchett & Agnes Varda Stage Feminist Protest In Cannes

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Eighty-two women including French filmmaker Agnès Varda and the actresses Salma Hayek and Marion Cotillard — appeared on the red carpet for the premiere of “Girls of the Sun” , directed by Eva Husson.  In a display of temperment fiercely embraced by the Kurdish women freedom fighters honored in Husson's film, the women joined Cate Blanchett in a red carpet protest of inequitable representation of women at the Cannes Film Festival. 

The number 82 was chosen precisely because in the 71 festival competitions since 1946, only 82 movies by female directors have contended for awards, compared with a total of 1,645 films by male directors. Only one movie by a female director, 'The Piano' by Jane Campion, has ever won the festival's top price, the Palme d'Or. Ms. Husson is one of three female directors among the 21 Palme d'Or contenders this year for 'Girls of the Sun'. 

According to The New York Times, the 82 women walked up the carpeted staircase, then turned to face the crowd. 

Cannes Jury President Cate Blanchett Makes Sustainability Cornerstone of Festival Fashion Choices

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Cannes 2018 jury president Cate Blanchett arrived in the south of France with stylist Elizabeth Stewart, who sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to discuss the star's Cannes wardrobe. Blanchett is using her fashion choices to address several issues that are front and center in Hollywood and around the world:: female representation and sustainability. 

On Tuesday at a jury photo call, Blanchett chose a pastel pink suit by Stella McCartney. The designer recently took full control of her flourishing luxury brand, buying out the 50% share of her company from luxury-giant Kering. McCartney has made environmental and animal welfare the foundation of her luxury business. “You don’t have to dress like a man to be powerful, she (Cate) just happens to like suits and they are a great staple,” notes Stewart. 

Cate Blanchett Named Jury President Of 71st Cannes Film Festival

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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. 

Cate Blanchett Talks 'Manifesto' and Metamorphosis In Tom Munro Images For Madame Figaro

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Actor Cate Blanchett is styled by Franck Benhamou in 'L'art de la  Métamorphose', lensed by Tom Munro for Madame Figaro November 17, 2017./ Hair by Nicola Clarke; makeup by Mary Greenwell

Blanchett's artistry is front and center in 'Manifesto', "originally a multi-screen gallery installation, now an unclassifiable feature directed by German artist and film-maker Julian Rosefeldt. The script is collaged from more than 50 artists’ manifestos from the past century, and recited by 13 different Blanchetts," writes The Guardian. 

What a change from Blanchett in these characters from her current role as an emo-styled goddess of destruction in 'Thor: Ragnarok'.