by Nathaniel R
Pedro Almodóvar was always going to be a tough act to follow. So surprise, Cannes went with an actress instead of a director to head its 71st annual event (May 8th through 19th, 2018). We're sure Pedro would approve, being the big Actressexual that he is. Actresses are more common than actors for this honor but the bulk of the Main Competition jury presidents are famous auteurs. Cate the Great will only be the 9th actress to preside (for the tenth such occurence). She's also only the second Australian after director George Miller reigned in 2016.
The only actresses to have previously presided over the main Cannes jury
- Olivia de Havilland (UK) in 1965
- Sophia Loren (Italy) in 1966
- Michele Morgan (France) in 1971
- Ingrid Bergman (Sweden) in 1973
- Jeanne Moreau (France) in 1975 and 1995
- Isabelle Adjani (France) in 1997
- Liv Ullman (Norway) in 2001
- Isabelle Huppert (France) in 2009
This is a smart move on Cannes part given the criticism they often receive about their exclusionary nature. Now if they could only address that problem within their actual lineup. Other A list festivals have definitely made greater strides about including female directors in their competitive lineups. At Cannes they're still often relegated to "Un Certain Regard" or whatnot.