It was one of the most important cinema news of the recent months: Cate Blanchett, winner of two Oscars (“The Aviator” and “Blue Jasmine”) and of other important awards, was appointed as President of the Jury of the 71st Cannes Film Festival, which will take place from the 8th to the 19th of May 2018. A right choice indeed, considering the talent of the actress and her constant commitment in support to victims of sexual harassment in any environment; not by chance, she was among the first supporters of the “Time’s Up” movement after the scandals that have recently shaken up Hollywood. It was therefore quite predictable that a woman would have been chosen as president of this jury.
But Cate Blanchett is not the only woman that plays an important role in this Cannes Film Festival, indeed we could talk about a somehow female-led edition: the jury of the Festival is, in fact, composed of 4 men and actresses Kristen Stewart, Léa Seydoux (winner of the Palme D’Or in 2013 for her role in “Blue Is The Warmest Color”), screenwriter and film director Ava DuVernay and singer Khadja Nin. In addition, there are several female names in the competition: among others, Alice Rohrwacher with “Lazzaro Felice,” Nadine Labaki with “Capernaum” and Valeria Golino with “Euphoria,” the latter out of the competition.
While we’re waiting to discover how this new edition will surprise us, find out which ladies have been presidents of the Cannes Film Festival jury before Cate.
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OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND – 1965
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The first edition of the Cannes Film Festival was held in 1946, but it took almost 20 years to see a woman as president of the jury. The honor was given to the Dame of the British Empire Olivia de Havilland, winner of two Academy Awards (“To Each His Own” and “The Heiress”), also famous for her role in “Gone With The Wind” and for her rivalry with the sister Joan Fontaine. About her role as first female jury’s president, she said, “The responsibility was huge, just like the possibility of making mistakes. I was intimidated by my role. However, I have to admit that, as the only woman in that year’s jury, I enjoyed it.”
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SOPHIA LOREN – 1966
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She is perhaps the most famous Italian actress of all time. Winner of two Oscars ( “Two women” and Academy Honorary Award), directed by the greatest directors, honored and courted by everyone, Sophia Loren arrived at the presidency of the Cannes jury in 1966, where she was part of a jury composed only by men. In this occasion, she acted in a moderate way, at least according to her words, “I am very flattered because in general the Presidency of such an important jury, like that of the Cannes Film Festival, has always been entrusted to people who have behind them a much longer artistic career than mine.”
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MICHÈLE MORGAN – 1971
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French actress who worked in films, theatre and television (considered one of the most beautiful French actresses of the 21st century), Michèle Morgan first won the Cannes Film Festival in 1946 as Best female Actress for “La Symphonie Pastorale” and then she was the president of the Jury in 1971: “It is a complicated role, almost insane I’d say, because you have to do a lot of things in one day. In the end, it’s very tiring.”
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INGRID BERGMAN – 1973
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According to the American Film Institute, Ingrid Bergman is the fourth most important actress in the history of cinema: winner of three Academy Awards (“Gaslight,” “Anastasia” and “Murder on the Orient Express”), unforgettable female protagonist of “Casablanca”, Bergman was president of the Cannes Film Festival jury in 1973 and she admitted that the most stressful work during those days were the numerous interviews by radio and TV stations! The Festival then honored her in 2015 as the main face of that edition’s poster, to celebrate the centenary of her birth.
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JEANNE MOREAU – 1975, 1995
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Effective and versatile, Jeanne Moreau was already a famous French actress at only twenty. She debuted on stage but then she moved to French cinema first, then to the American one. The friendship and collaboration with film director François Truffaut were fundamental for her. She is the only actress to have chaired twice the jury of the Cannes Film Festival and her duet with Vanessa Paradis on the notes of the ballad taken from the film “Jules et Jim” at the opening ceremony of 1995 is very famous. Another curiosity regarding her modus operandi during the presidencies: Jeanne used to retire to her hotel after each film to write personal notes about it.
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FRANÇOISE SAGAN – 1979
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Françoise Sagan was a French bestselling writer, playwright, and screenwriter: tormented character, over the top and daring (she became addicted to morphine after an accident), the nomination as president of the Cannes jury was for her so unexpected, given her modest cinematographic culture, to make her refuse at first. In the end, she accepted because of her technical knowledge of directing. The year when she was jury’s president is remembered for the debate around the victory of “Apocalypse Now,” directed by Francis Ford Coppola, which was presented in a non-final version. Françoise, on the contrary, supported the film “Le Tambour” until the end.
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ISABELLE ADJANI – 1997
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She is considered one of the best French actresses ever and she holds the record for the largest number of César awards ever won by a woman (5 out of 8 nominations). She was president of the jury at the 50th Cannes Film Festival and the youngest to have ever been chosen for this role: “It turned out to be a very nice experience despite having a difficult jury, composed of great filmmakers who were acting as dominant. Sometimes I wondered why me, the actress, was chosen to preside rather than one of them. I teased them by saying how much they deserved to be in my place, but that nothing, unfortunately, could be changed… “. A particular anecdote that involves her is very famous: during an evening of the Festival, the Spice Girls were in concert under the windows of the Majestic Hotel, from which Béatrice Dalle, a friend of Isabelle, yelled them to keep quiet!
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LIV ULLMANN – 2001
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Liv Ullmann made her debut as a theatrical actress and then took part in both Norwegian and American productions. Film director and UNICEF Ambassador, she is also famous for her first collaboration and relationship with film director Ingmar Bergman, who wrote for her the screenplay “Persona” (1996).
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ISABELLE HUPPERT – 2009
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She is one of the most rewarded actresses in film history and she has appeared in more than 100 movies and TV series since her debut in 1971, obtaining several awards and nominations (to name one, she has been nominated 16 times for a César). She has attended the Cannes Film Festival more than 25 times in different roles: as actress, guest, host, jury member and president in 2009. About that role, she said, “Cannes and I share a long history of love and this opportunity will increase even more my love for the festival and for the movie world.”
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JANE CAMPION – 2014
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New Zealand director and only woman to have ever won the Palme d’Or twice (in 1986 for the short film “Peel” and in 1993 for “The Piano”, for which she also won the Oscar for Best Screenplay), Jane Campion was the first female director to preside at the jury of the Cannes Film Festival: “It is a great honor for me to be chosen as president of the jury and, to tell you the truth, I’m also a little impatient. Cannes is a mythical and surprising place where actors are revealed, films find their producers and careers begin. I know it because it happened to me.”
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CATE BLANCHETT – 2018
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Let’s end with the most recent one in the timeline. Both a screen and stage actress, Cate Blanchett has come a long way since she walked for the first time on a red carpet, the one of the Venice Film Festival in 1998 to present “Elizabeth,” where Cate played the protagonist and that consecrated her to international success.
The actress said about her nomination, “In these years I have been in Cannes very often and for many reasons. As an actress and a producer. I went to the market, the red carpet and the competition. But nothing can be compared to the joy that will give me the abundance of great films that I will see this May. It is a privilege that I accept humbly: this Festival will play a key role in celebrating history. It really brings together the whole world, it’s a place where people share and aspire to the same thing.”
