Female-led blockbusters remain 'incredibly low,' says Nicole Kidman

Nicole Kidman lamented Sunday, May 18, in Cannes that the number of top-grossing films directed by women in the United States remains " still incredibly low." The Australian-American actress pledged eight years ago to work with a female filmmaker every 18 months. A promise she has kept with flying colors, confirming yesterday that she has worked with 27 female directors since making this pledge.

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Eight years ago, there was " such a disparity (between men and women) in terms of choices " for directing films that " there simply weren't enough names " of women to put forward, she recalled upon receiving the ^10th " Women in Motion " award (an award from the luxury group Kering honoring figures who are " changing the place of women in cinema and in society "). At the time, " I was going to make that happen ," she added.

For the proportion of women filmmakers to continue to increase, we need to " mentor, support, and help " them in the long term, including financially, the actress argued. We really need to " protect and surround women with almost a force field (...) so that they can do their best ," without them thinking that this is their " only chance ," Nicole Kidman continued.

The star also expressed her delight that of the 22 films in the running for the Palme d'Or on May 24, including seven directed by women, Sound of Falling by German director Mascha Schilinski, which explores the labyrinthine transmission of suffering through four generations of women, is among the favorites.