Let’s climb: Blanchett

W ith their arms entwined in solidarity 82 women from the film industry marched up the Red Carpet led by President of the Jury Cate Blanchette.

“The stairs of our industry must be accessible to all. Let’s climb,” said Cate Blanchett, the president of the Jury at Cannes 2018. Alongside her stood director Agnès Varda, who translated the remarks into French.

The two women were joined by a range of others from the international film community, including India’s Nandita Dass.

In her speech, Blanchett said 82 women were on the steps because that is the “number of female directors who have climbed these stairs” since Cannes’ inception in 1946. In the years since, she noted, 1,688 male directors have made the same trek.

Furthermore, Blanchett added, the festival’s most prestigious prize, the Palme d’Or, has been given to 71 male directors but just two female directors, Jane Campion and Varda, who received an honorary version of the award.

“These facts,” Blanchett added, “are stark and undeniable.”