2 Female Directors in the running for the Palme d'Or

Film Festivals are these magical places where random movies, good or bad, are screened for awards and money and even better, buzz. At the pinnacle of movie buzz is the Canne Film Festival.

We often talk about Sundance Film Festival because Sundance has been a huge supporter of diversity, and in particular women writers and directors. Go Sundance!

Cannes is a little different, focusing less on independent movies, and more on international prestige. It's where movies go to find distribution, and BIG movies go to find awards. Past Palme d'Or (Best Film) winners include Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, and Michael Moore.

I like to think of the Palme d'Or as not being the best movie of the year, but definitely as the most talked about. You may not have seen The Tree of Life (Winner, 2011) but you probably heard about it that year. It is the representation of in-the-moment cinema.

Since the inception of the Palme d'Or award in 1975 only one female director has ever won, in 1993 Jane Campion for The Piano. It might be worth noting that last year in 2013, Blue is the Warmest Color won the award and for the first time in Canne history, the two lead actresses were also awarded the Palme d'Or as a special prize.

In the 2014 selection, it was specifically mentioned that of the 49 films selected, 15 featured female directors.
A huge increase from the past few years where Canne has specifically been the target of criticism over the issue. 2 of the female directed films are currently still in the competition for the Palme d'Or.

Good luck to Naomi Kawase for Still the Water as well as Alice Rohrwacher for Le Meraviglie.

HuffPo: Cannes Film Festival Doubles Female Directors To Compete For Palme d'Or

I also wanted to point out that 3 Canadian films were also announced, and as Canadian screenwriters that's a big deal for us. A Canadian film has never won the Palme d'Or.