Actress-producer Nicole Kidman has worked with over 20 women directors in the past eight years and she wishes to continue giving opportunities to women in filmmaking, she said during an event at the ongoing Cannes Film Festival on Sunday.
Kidman was honoured with the Kering Women in Motion Award at the Cannes Film Festival, becoming the 10th recipient of the title.
“I'm just an advocate (of equal opportunities) and want to continue to keep moving forward with that, with my pledge from 2017, so it ain't over,” Kidman said at the Women in Motion dinner at Cannes.
In 2017, Kidman pledged to work with women directors at the interval of every 18 months.
“I had to say, 'This is how I'm doing it. We'll take the risk. We're going to mentor, support, help and protect. 'I'm here. I'll be in your film’,” she said.
The 57-year-old actress, who won the Academy Award in 2002 for playing the British novelist and essayist Virginia Woolf in The Hours, also spoke out about facing and resisting ageism in the film industry.
“You get to a certain age, and maybe you have made a great film in your 20s that got lauded and then suddenly you’re in your 40s, and you haven’t followed it up or made choices that didn’t succeed. But you’re like, ‘I’m not over! Please still keep believing in me and investing in me,” the Babygirl actress said.
She discussed the importance of championing a shift in perspective, highlighting the value of seasoned talents who’ve been overlooked. Kidman said that it’s about recognising that experience and knowledge can lead to a fulfilling second or third chapter in one’s career, defying ageism and stereotypes.
On the work front, Nicole Kidman will be next seen in the upcoming second season of the mystery thriller Nine Perfect Strangers.
The 78th Cannes Film Festival began on May 13 and will conclude on May 24.