82 Women in Hollywood Lead a Protest March on Cannes Red Carpet

Cannes Women’s March: Cate Blanchett, Salma Hayek, Kristen Stewart, Ava DuVernay, Patty Jenkins unite for change.

82 women walk the red carpet in Cannes film fest protest.  

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

The #MeToo movement took center stage at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday, 12 May, as Cate Blanchett, Marion Cotillard, Patty Jenkins and other female filmmakers and artists gathered together to agitate for better treatment of women in the movie business.

There were 82 women in total, a reference to the number of female directors who have climbed the steps of the Palais, the festival’s central theater, since Cannes began celebrating celluloid in 1942. In contrast to their 82, 1,866 films directed by men have been picked for the prestigious festival lineup. Blanchett said in a statement, as the women linked their arms in solidarity. The Oscar-winning actress and Cannes jury head was flanked by Kristen Stewart, Marion Cotillard, Ava DuVernay, Léa Seydoux, and Salma Hayek.

Women are not a minority in the world, yet the current state of the industry says otherwise. As women, we all face our own unique challenges, but we stand together on these stairs today as a symbol of our determination and commitment to progress. We are writers, producers, directors, actresses, cinematographers, talent agents, editors, distributors, sales agents and all involved in the cinematic arts.

Cate Blanchett, Actor

Organisers said the event was orchestrated by the Time's Up movement and the French movement known as 5020x2020 to show "how hard it is still to climb the social and professional ladder" for women.

The women made their presence felt and their voices heard.

Source: Variety