Greta Gerwig’s Cannes Jury Faces Tense Questions on Opening Day

About France’s fledgling Me Too movement, a seasonal-workers’ strike, and the horrific conditions in Gaza. Photo: Stephane Cardinale/Corbis via Getty Images

The 77th annual Cannes Film Festival kicked off today in a decidedly tense environment, one where freelance festival workers are verging on strike, artists globally are under increasing pressure to speak about the horrific conditions in Gaza, and rumors abound about the impending release of an “explosive list� of ten men in the French film industry who have been abusive to women. The list’s release comes on the heels of Gerard Depardieu’s arrest for allegedly assaulting two women on two different film sets and may or may not precede the May 15 screening of a short film called Moi Aussi, a last-minute addition to the festival directed by French actor Judith Godrèche and featuring the personal testimony of women in the industry who have been victims of sexual abuse. At the opening press conference, many of the questions directed at jury president Greta Gerwig focused on France’s fledgling Me Too movement, which has long trailed behind Hollywood’s — just last week, legislators opened a government inquiry into sexual and gender-based violence across the country’s performing arts and fashion industries, years after actors like Adèle Haenel and Godrèche accused French directors of assault.

Gerwig replied diplomatically and carefully throughout the press conference. Asked about the “stormy� moment the country is having with regard to Me Too, and whether it might affect the festival, Gerwig replied, “I think people in the community of movies telling their stories and trying to change things for the better is only good. I have seen substantive change in the American film community and I think it’s important that we continue to expand that conversation. I think it’s only moving everything in the correct direction to keep those lines of communication open.�

Spanish writer-director J.A. Bayona chimed in, vaguely: “I would like to say it’s not an issue that affects the cinema in particular. It’s much more widespread and we’re really here to focus on the films.�

Chaz Ebert, Roger Ebert’s widow and the host of his namesake film festival, pushed the issue further, asking about the relationship between the Cannes and global politics more generally. “Yesterday, [festival director] Thierry Frémaux said we concentrate too much on controversies rather than cinema. But with everything happening, isn’t it also fair to consider the controversies in the world when you’re judging in the Palme d’Or?�

“One thing we spoke about last night as a jury with Thierry is the marvelous thing about cinema is that it’s a slow art form,� replied Gerwig. “It can often take years for a movie from the inception to when you see it … And in itself it’s a durational art film. In that space, artists from all over the world get to say something extremely specific and personal, from their points of view. I think just the very act of watching and engaging with cinema seriously is part of the discussion of what’s difficult. Every actor and filmmaker up here has brought that to bear on the movies they make. I think if you’re truly engaging with it, you’re engaging with everything, and you’re engaging with a thoughtful version of it that’s considered and has grown over time. So I think it certainly is important to consider it. And the very nature of Cannes does consider it.�

Another journalist asked about whether Gerwig and French actor/producer Omar Sy were “surprised� that France’s Me Too movement was taking so long and meeting “more resistance� than Hollywood’s. “I can’t speak to the way the timelines work with movements like this,� said Gerwig. “But I can say it’s evolving all the time. It’s not something that is a destination we all reach together. It’s something we keep discussing and figuring out how we want our industry and cinema to be.� She noted the “concrete changes� that have happened in Hollywood, specifically the increased presence of intimacy coordinators on sets: “That was something that, when I was starting out, didn’t happen at all. And now it’s being built into films. I think of it the exact same way as I think of a stunt or fight coordinator. This is an art, and it’s part of building a safe environment, just as you would if you had two people fight with swords. You don’t just ‘see what happens.’ That would be terrifying.�

Sy had a different take: “We talked about things happening later in France, but I don’t know whether we’re late. People are speaking out and talking about this and I am not under the impression that we’re approaching the topic late.�

Gerwig, who’s the first female director jury president since Jane Campion a decade ago, was also asked about why there weren’t more women directors selected to screen films in this year’s festival. “In my lifetime of making movies it’s changed and it’s gotten better and there are more [female directors], and it’s not done yet,� said Gerwig. “But it’s certainly moving in the right direction. Every year I cheer when there are more and more women being represented. I think it’s about the long arc … 15 years ago, I couldn’t imagine the number of women that were represented not only in international festivals but in distribution and awards conversations. I’m hopeful that it’s just continuing.�

The war was only touched upon briefly — a question about how it’s “hard not to confront what’s happening in Gaza� was answered by Italian actor Pierfrancesco Favino, who replied broadly, “Movies can talk to people and hopefully to the better part of people. This is why I wanted to be an actor. This is why I decided I could be here without feeling guilty as a human being. Because I think we’re showing the possibility that if we look for beauty, then we might look for peace, and we might look for the good things in life, or what I consider personally the good things in life. But I am quite sure that at this table are people who share my same feelings.�

Gerwig was also pointedly asked about the strike in France — “Do you have a message for those workers and their potential efforts?� — and she acknowledged that, having recently struck in her own union of SAG, she “certainly supports labor movements,� and added, “I hope the festival and the workers can form an agreement that is good for them and supports them and supports the festival because it is very important that people have protections and a living wage.�