Standing atop the steps of Cannes Film Festival, leader of the #MeToo march togheter with Agnès Varda, Cate Blanchett delivered a memorable speech on gender equality.
“Women are not a minority in the world, yet the current state of our industry says otherwise,” she said, standing besides fellow jurors Ava DuVernay, Kristen Stewart, and Léa Seydoux, while famous the Oscar winner director Agnès Varda translated the statement in french.
“As women, we all face our own unique challenges, but we stand together on these steps today as a symbol of our determination and our commitment to progress. We are writers, we are producers, we are directors, actresses, cinematographers, talent agents, editors, distributors, sales agents, and all of us are involved in the cinematic arts. And we stand today in solidarity with women of all industries (…) We expect our institutions to actively provide parity and transparency in their executive bodies and provide safe environments in which to work. We expect our governments to make sure that the laws of equal pay for equal work are upheld. We demand that our workplaces are diverse and equitable so that they best reflect the world in which we actually live, a world that allows all of us in front and behind the camera, all of us, to thrive shoulder to shoulder with our male colleagues. And we acknowledge all of the men and women standing around the world for change. The stairs our industry must be accessible to all. Let’s climb.”