Nicole Kidman receives special Women in Motion Cannes honour for working with female directors
Nicole Kidman, the busiest woman in Hollywood, has not been to the Cannes Film Festival in eight years.
Rocking up to this year’s festival, she was not there to promote one of her many projects on La Croisette, but to receive the Women in Motion Award, one of the side events on the schedule in the French city.
On the red carpet, Kidman said, “I’m so happy to be here supporting Women in Motion and being supportive of women’s voices in cinema.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“I’m just an advocate and want to continue to keep moving forward with that, with my pledge from 2017, so it ain’t over.”
The most recent time Kidman was in Cannes was in 2017 when she made a public pledge to work with one female director at least every 18 months. She far surpassed that goal. In the period since, she has worked or has projects in development with female directors 27 times.
Reflecting on when she made that decision, she said in a talk for the event, “I was going to make it possible. I was at a point where we had a discussion that there was such a disparity in choices. You would go, ‘Well, could a woman direct this and there just wasn’t the number of names you could consider’.
“I went, I just have to start saying, ‘Well, this is how I’m doing it and this is what I’m doing and we’ll take the risk and we’re going to mentor and support and help and really protect, part of it is protecting, and surrounding the women with a force field of protection and support so they can do their best work’.
“And at the same time, giving them the opportunity to not feel like this is their only chance.”
Among the Kidman movies and TV shows since 2017 that have featured female directors are Destroyer with Karyn Kusama, Babygirl with Halina Reijn, Holland with Mimi Cave, Expats with Lulu Wang, The Undoing and The Perfect Couple, both with Susanne Bier, and the upcoming Margo’s Got Money Troubles, directed by the trio of Dearbhla Walsh, Kate Herron and Alice Seabright.
She said she felt emotional to see first-time directors she’s worked with then going on to get their next projects greenlit.
“To see the emotion in the people getting the opportunities, and that is what it is about,” Kidman said. “For me at this stage of my life, to have that purpose and commitment is something that pulls me through it as well.
“As much as I’m an actor and I’m looking for great roles, I’m also looking to experiment. I don’t want to be contained and I don’t want to be safe, so constantly looking to push the boundaries, and that’s what the young filmmakers are saying, ‘So come and experiment with me’.”
