Latest news with #KerinWomeninMotion
Sydney Morning Herald
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Nicole Kidman honoured at Cannes, and looking for new female directors
Nicole Kidman says she doesn't see herself as a movie star. She is a character actor. 'That's what we do. If you're employed to be a movie star, maybe that's a different thing, where they say, 'We just want you'. But I've never been employed for that. I've always been chosen to create a character. 'And that's what I love doing. That's why, as an Australian actor at drama school, you learn every accent possible because you know it's going to be very rare that you use your own accent. You learn how to walk differently. You learn how to breathe differently.' Kidman, 57, was speaking at the Cannes Film Festival, where she was receiving an award from the annual Kerin Women in Motion event. She has been coming to Cannes, she calculates, for 32 years. 'When I first came here, it was with Far and Away. The next year, I came with To Die For. Two very different films!' Many more have followed. In 2017, a banner year, she appeared in four festival films including Sofia Coppola's The Beguiled, which won Coppola best director. At that time, only 4 per cent of directors in the United States were women. Kidman made a public commitment at the festival to make a film with a female director every 18 months. She not only kept that promise, but has now made 27 projects helmed by women. As a producer, she said it was hard at first to come up with eligible names. Women who hadn't had a chance to direct were regarded as too risky. 'I had to start to just say, 'This is how I'm doing it. We'll take the risk. We're going to mentor and support and help and protect'.' Her trump card was to offer to appear in their films herself. 'The only way to do it is to actually do the work, show up and go, 'I'm here. I'll be in your film'.' Loading Kidman arrived in Cannes this year, she said, still looking for new directors. 'I had a meeting with a director yesterday when I got in. He said, 'I have something that is incredibly disturbing. Are you frightened of that?' I said, 'Absolutely not. I'm thrilled about it'.' She says she gravitates towards material that will make her uncomfortable. 'I don't want to be contained. Constantly looking to push the boundaries is what I'm looking for. I also love very low-budget filmmaking that is purely experimental, so that you don't have the enormous risk attached to it,' she said. 'It requires just going, 'Don't worry about me; don't worry about a trailer. I'll sit on an apple box. I'll wait in the car ... Let's just get the camera and shoot!' I came from that. I was born into that in Australia and I love going back to it.' Cannes Film Festival, regarded as the home of cinema and the launching pad for the best of new and innovative cinema, has been frequently criticised for failing to support female filmmakers, with only one or two included in the 20-strong competition in the worst years. This year, there are seven, a record.
The Age
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
Nicole Kidman honoured at Cannes, and looking for new female directors
Nicole Kidman says she doesn't see herself as a movie star. She is a character actor. 'That's what we do. If you're employed to be a movie star, maybe that's a different thing, where they say, 'We just want you'. But I've never been employed for that. I've always been chosen to create a character. 'And that's what I love doing. That's why, as an Australian actor at drama school, you learn every accent possible because you know it's going to be very rare that you use your own accent. You learn how to walk differently. You learn how to breathe differently.' Kidman, 57, was speaking at the Cannes Film Festival, where she was receiving an award from the annual Kerin Women in Motion event. She has been coming to Cannes, she calculates, for 32 years. 'When I first came here, it was with Far and Away. The next year, I came with To Die For. Two very different films!' Many more have followed. In 2017, a banner year, she appeared in four festival films including Sofia Coppola's The Beguiled, which won Coppola best director. At that time, only 4 per cent of directors in the United States were women. Kidman made a public commitment at the festival to make a film with a female director every 18 months. She not only kept that promise, but has now made 27 projects helmed by women. As a producer, she said it was hard at first to come up with eligible names. Women who hadn't had a chance to direct were regarded as too risky. 'I had to start to just say, 'This is how I'm doing it. We'll take the risk. We're going to mentor and support and help and protect'.' Her trump card was to offer to appear in their films herself. 'The only way to do it is to actually do the work, show up and go, 'I'm here. I'll be in your film'.' Loading Kidman arrived in Cannes this year, she said, still looking for new directors. 'I had a meeting with a director yesterday when I got in. He said, 'I have something that is incredibly disturbing. Are you frightened of that?' I said, 'Absolutely not. I'm thrilled about it'.' She says she gravitates towards material that will make her uncomfortable. 'I don't want to be contained. Constantly looking to push the boundaries is what I'm looking for. I also love very low-budget filmmaking that is purely experimental, so that you don't have the enormous risk attached to it,' she said. 'It requires just going, 'Don't worry about me; don't worry about a trailer. I'll sit on an apple box. I'll wait in the car ... Let's just get the camera and shoot!' I came from that. I was born into that in Australia and I love going back to it.' Cannes Film Festival, regarded as the home of cinema and the launching pad for the best of new and innovative cinema, has been frequently criticised for failing to support female filmmakers, with only one or two included in the 20-strong competition in the worst years. This year, there are seven, a record.
