Cate Blanchett named Jury President of the 2018… | Little White Lies

Festivals

Cate Blanchett named Jury Pres­i­dent of the 2018 Cannes Film Festival

04 Jan 2018

Words by Little White Lies

Circular black and white eye icon with radiating lines.
Circular black and white eye icon with radiating lines.
The Car­ol and Blue Jas­mine star will judge this year’s Palme d’Or contenders.

Aus­tralian actor Cate Blanchett has been cho­sen to pre­side over the Jury at the 71st edi­tion of the Cannes Film Fes­ti­val, which takes place this com­ing May on the Côte d’Azur.

She will be only the 12th women in the festival’s long his­to­ry to be recog­nised in this way, pick­ing up the man­tle from the likes of Jane Cam­pi­on, Isabelle Hup­pert, Liv Ull­mann and Sophia Loren. With so many acclaimed female direc­tors return­ing with new works in 2018, we’re hop­ing for a more even spread in the main Com­pe­ti­tion than the fes­ti­val has man­aged in pre­vi­ous years.

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This week Blanchett joined over 300 women across the film indus­try in launch­ing Time’s Up, a plat­form designed to pro­vide legal sup­port to those who have expe­ri­enced sex­u­al harass­ment, assault, or abuse in the workplace.

On her appoint­ment as Jury Pres­i­dent, 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. ​“This fes­ti­val plays a piv­otal role in bring­ing the world togeth­er to cel­e­brate sto­ry; that strange and vital endeav­our that all peo­ples share, under­stand and crave.”

Last year’s pres­i­dent, Pedro Almod­ó­var, award­ed the Palme d’Or to The Square by Swedish direc­tor Ruben Östlund. Blanchett last attend­ed Cannes in 2015 as the star of Todd Haynes’ Car­ol. She recent­ly com­plet­ed film­ing on Richard Linklater’s new film, Where’d You Go, Bernadette, which could well pre­miere at this year’s festival.

The 2018 Cannes Film Fes­ti­val will take place from May 8 – 19. For more info vis­it fes​ti​val​-cannes​.com

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