Nicole Kidman Champions Women Filmmakers, Slams Ageism At Cannes 2025
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Nicole Kidman received the Women in Motion Award at Cannes 2025 for advocating female directors and addressing ageism.
Nicole Kidman was celebrated at the Cannes Film Festival 2025 as the latest recipient of the Women in Motion Award, presented by Kering. While the accolade itself is prestigious, what truly resonated was Kidman's candid reflection on how the industry treats both emerging and seasoned female talent.
Known for supporting women behind the lens, Kidman has turned her words into action. Back in 2017, she made a personal commitment to work with a female director at least once every 18 month, a promise she's exceeded, having collaborated with 27 women directors in just eight years.
'I was going to make it possible. I was at a point where we had a discussion where there was such a disparity in terms of the choice. You'd go, 'Could a woman direct this?' And there wasn't a number of names where you could even consider people. They'd say it was someone's first time and you didn't want to risk it," she shared in an interview with Variety.
Kidman, who has consistently advocated for more representation in the film world, didn't hold back when addressing ageism either. She touched upon the struggles that often come with growing older in a youth-driven industry.
'You get to a certain age and maybe you had 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.' That is important too, resisting ageism. There's the emerging talents and then the ones that are still going who have a wealth of knowledge and experience and have somehow been cast out or are not the cool person. It's about going, 'No, you actually can have a second or third chapter,'" she expressed passionately.
Kidman was most recently seen in Holland, directed by Mimi Cave, and is set to return in Nine Perfect Strangers Season 2.
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