Diane Kruger Supports Female Filmmakers Organization ‘Breaking Through The Lens’ At Cannes: “More Than Ever, It’s A Time To Hear Female Voices”

Antonia Blyth
·3 min read
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On Sunday at Cannes, Diane Kruger put her star power behind a worthy cause, attending the ‘Transcending Borders’ gala at the Campari Lounge hosted by Breaking Through the Lens—an organization that works to support female filmmakers.

“I know first hand how incredibly difficult it is as a woman in this industry,” Kruger told Deadline. “Even though we’ve made strides, obviously, in the industry. But [this organization] really just resonated to me and I think more than ever, it’s a time to hear female voices. Even this year alone in Cannes, we’ve heard the uprising of the #MeToo movement, but it’s not just that. It’s also just telling our stories, and so I think that’s incredibly important.”

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Kruger is at the Cannes Film Festival with David Cronenberg’s film The Shrouds, which will premiere in Competition on Monday. “I’m starting to be actually a little nervous, to be honest,” she said, smiling. “It never gets old. Last time I was here that I had a film in Competition was In the Fade, obviously, and it’s never just, oh, it’s another film that’s in Cannes. It’s such a privilege to share this moment with so many incredible filmmakers. It’s so great that this year of all years it’s a female president,” she added, referring to jury president Greta Gerwig. “That is awesome. So I don’t know. I’m feeling the vibe this year.”

Daphne Schmon, co-founder and CEO of Breaking Through the Lens explained the origin of the organization: “It started with a very grassroots mission to get more female voices into the top levels of the industry by focusing on support at the financing stage. I’m a director, and so I understand the struggle of women in the industry. We had an opportunity from an investor that very first year, and we thought, Let’s bring these two groups together and take action towards getting more female-led films financed. That’s how we began. We then are here six years later.”

Schmon said the event title ‘Transcending Borders’ is about the organization’s mission to “Acknowledge our differences and the culture differences,” and to “explore ways to work together to improve the gender disparity in across all different countries of the world and film industry.”

Kruger also spoke on a panel during the gala, alongside producer Tiffany Boyle (Oh Canada), CEO and founder of Pinky Promise Films Jessamine Burgam (Bird), executive director of SAGIndie, Darrien Michele Gipson and director Nadia Fall (Brides).

During the panel Fall noted that “cinema is the empathy machine” and that storytelling is the ultimate way to create change and awareness.

In response, Kruger said, “I’m a young mother and I really noticed that my daughter, when she watches a movie, her perception of things change. And that’s why something like this is so important, because there are so many young girls around the world that are privileged or under privileged, and they’re going to grow up seeing the possibility that their story can be heard and can be told. And that’s why this is important. We need to support women and young girls so that one day they’re going to be able to tell their story.”

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