Nicole Kidman has touched down at the Cannes Film Festival, where she is set to receive the Woman in Motion Award from Kering chairman and CEO François-Henri Pinault, Cannes president Iris Knobloch and festival director Thierry Fremaux. Ahead of the awards dinner, Kidman joined Variety’s Angelique Jackson for a Kering Woman in Motion talk in which the Oscar winner spoke passionately about her commitment to uplifting female directors.
It was in 2017 when Kidman made a public vow to work with a woman director every 18 months. She had no idea if that would even be possible, but she was determined to see it through. And see it through she has. In the last eight years, plus factoring in her current projects in development, Kidman has teamed up with 27 female directors across her her various film and television projects.
“I was going to make it possible,” Kidman said during the Kering talk about her vow. “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.”
“I had to start to say this is how I am doing it. This is what I am doing,” she continued. “We will take the risk and we are going to mentor and support and help and then really protect. Because part of it is protecting and surrounding the women with almost like a forcefield of protection and support so they can do their best work. At the same time, it’s giving them the opportunity where they feel like this isn’t the only chance. A lot of is like, ‘OK, you get one shot.’”
Kidman has spoken out in the past about this unfair standard that women directors face in Hollywood. Whereas male directors are more likely to get a chance to rebound, women are knocked down if they don’t deliver a perfect movie. Speaking at Cannes, Kidman said that when she collaborates with young female directors she makes it a priority to tell them that if the project doesn’t turn out perfect that doesn’t mean they failed. But it’s not just young women Kidman is focused on uplifting.
“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,” Kidman said. “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.’”
It’s no surprise, then, that Kidman’s filmography since 2017 is a mix of industry veterans (Karyn Kusama, Susanne Bier) and newcomers (Halina Reijn, Mimi Cave). Her most recent theatrical release was Reijn’s “Babygirl,” and Cave’s suburban thriller “Holland” started streaming on Prime Video this spring. Kidman’s recent television work has included Lulu Wang’s “Expats” and Bier’s “The Perfect Couple.” Bier will also be behind the camera for Kidman’s upcoming “Practical Magic 2” with Sandra Bullock.
Given her commitment to women directors, does Kidman want to move into directing herself? “No,” she said. “I find it incredibly fulfilling supporting filmmakers in a producer capacity. It’s beautiful being an actor and saying, ‘I’m in your hands and shape me and do with me what you will.’ I enjoy the intimacy of the work. The intimacy is what keeps me coming back. It’s salvation for me.”
When Kidman first made her vow in 2017, women had directed only 4% of the top-grossing movies of the year. That number has gone up in the eight years since. In 2024, women directors made up 13.6% of the year’s biggest films. But that “still seems incredibly low,” Kidman said, adding that she will continue working to keep the statistic increasing. It’s all about “working and supporting financially and finding the mentors. Finding the financial mentors who are willing to invest money in this unknown director and take a risk.”
Kidman was last at Cannes in 2017 to receive the 70th Anniversary Prize. She will be honored this year with the 10th Woman in Motion Award during a May 18 dinner.
