On the eve of the Cannes Film Festival's opening ceremony, festival director Thierry Frémaux met with the press Monday and fielded questions on gender parity, artificial intelligence, politics, red carpet selfies and the ongoing influence of Hollywood.
The sharpest exchange came over the festival's record on female directors. Only five of the 22 films competing for the Palme d'Or this year were directed by women, down from seven in 2025. French gender-parity organization Le Collectif 50/50, founded in the wake of the MeToo movement, publicly accused Cannes of "feminism washing" in connection with the festival's official poster, which features Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon in the 1991 road film Thelma and Louise. A journalist from the AFP noted that the Berlinale had approached parity this year, with nine of its 22 Golden Bear contenders directed by women, compared to Cannes' 23 percent.
According to a report by Deadline, Frémaux came prepared with notes on the gender parity question, saying he had been expecting it.
Frémaux also addressed the political controversy that followed the Berlinale earlier this year, when jury president Wim Wenders drew criticism after declaring at the opening jury conference that filmmakers should stay out of politics. Frémaux defended Wenders directly.
"I would like to pay tribute to Wim Wenders because I think he was subjected to criticisms that weren't really justified. I understood what he wanted to say, but I think people didn't want to understand what he was saying," Frémaux said. "He wanted to say that the politics should be on the screen. That's what we say at Cannes… the festival considers that political questions are primarily those of the artists' voices and the voices of the artists whose work is being shown."
Frémaux said filmmakers in the Official Selection were free to express or withhold political opinions if questioned, but that it was not his role, nor that of the jury or festival management, to weigh in on political matters.
"We're in a world partly at war, a world in a fragile state in terms of dialogue between nations. We don't want to add to the confusion with our analysis of what's going on… I often say, and I deeply believe this, that art, and cinema in particular, are instruments of peace, even when they are calling for rebellion and freedom," he said.
The festival's 2026 edition opened against a backdrop of broader industry debates over AI, new Oscar submission rules and the role of Hollywood studios in the global market.
