Cannes Shoegate: Festival Apologises But Women Are Still Complaining of Flat Shoe Ban

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Women attendees are still complaining of being turned away from the Cannes red carpet despite a denial and then an apology from festival director Thierry Fremaux.

 

The BBC reports that producer Valeria Richter was barred by red carpet officials, who allegedly pointed to her feet and said, “No, no, this won’t work. You can’t get in like this.” Part of Ms Richter’s left foot is amputated and she said she finds it hard to balance in heels. She was eventually let in.

 

Filmmaker Asif Kapadia, director of the documentary Amy which was screened at Cannes over the weekend, also reported that his wife had been given a hard time over her shoes but was later allowed in. Actress Shabana Azmi, who has served on the Cannes jury in the past, criticized the alleged ban on Twitter:

Shocking report that Cannes bans flats on red carpet!Director of Amy Asif Kapadia says his wife was given rough time 2.Unacceptable surely.

Azmi Shabana (@AzmiShabana) May 20, 2015

 

After Britain’s Screen Daily reported that a group of women were not allowed into the screening of Cate Blanchett’s film Carol, Thierry Fremaux insisted in a tweet:”The rumour that the festival requires high heels for the women on the steps is baseless.”

 

At a dinner on Tuesday night, he told AFP, “We apologise,” adding that “there was perhaps a small moment of over-zealousness,” apparently referring to the security guards.

 

The festival also released an official statement that read: “Regarding the dress code for the red carpet screenings, rules have not changed throughout the years (tuxedo, formal dress for Gala screenings) and there is no specific mention about the height of the women’s heels as well as for men’s.”

 

As the row over high heels erupted, actress Emily Blunt said on Tuesday, “Everyone should wear flats to be honest. We shouldn’t wear high heels anyway. That’s very disappointing. You think there’s these new waves of equality.” Emily’s film Sicario premiered at the film festival on Tuesday evening and her director Denis Villeneuve joked that he and the film’s male co-stars, Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin, would climb the ‘stairs in high heels’ in solidarity.

 

Categories: asif kapadia, cannes, festival, heels, high heels, nbsp, red carpet, thierry fremaux, Women

At Cannes, It"s "Year of Women." Just This Year?, the Women Ask

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This year’s Cannes Film Festival has been dubbed the “Year of the Women” for its focus on female issues and filmmakers, but many of the women in question seem keen to fight back against the label.

 

The festival on France’s south coast – like the wider film industry that feeds it – has a reputation for male domination, so there was some relief that this year’s official selection opened things up a bit.

 

A female director, Emmanuelle Bercot, opened the festival for only the second time in its history and Agnes Varda will be the first female recipient of the honorary lifetime achievement award.

 

The competition includes two women directors where often there are none, and the most critically lauded entry so far – Carol starring a lavishly praised Cate Blanchett – focuses on repressed lesbian love.

 

Even the action films – Mad Max: Fury Road and drug war thriller Sicario — have female leads in the form of Charlize Theron and Emily Blunt.

 

Despite all this, the women in question have pushed back against the idea they should feel grateful for the supposed largesse.

 

“They say it’s the ‘year of the women’”, said Cate Blanchett at a press conference. “You hope it’s not just a year – not just some fashionable moment.”

 

Emmanuelle outright rejected the idea that the choice of her film as festival opener was some sort of victory for female empowerment.

 

“It’s the selection of the film that’s an honour,” she said. “I don’t feel I’ve been a given a gift because such a prestigious slot went to a woman.”

 

Complete imbalance

To make matters worse, the festival’s supposed embracing of females was undermined by claims on Tuesday that women were being turned away from the red carpet for not wearing high heels.

 

Emily said the reports were “very disappointing… everyone should wear flats to be honest.” She went on to criticise the obsession of reporters with her “tough” characters. (Also Read: Cannes Festival Organisers Apologise But Women Are Still Complaining of Flat Shoe Ban)

 

“I get asked a lot about playing tough female roles, but I don’t really see them as tough,” said the British actress. “There are plenty of strong women out there and I don’t think they can be compartmentalised as one thing – oh, you’re tough. Why? Because I have a gun?”

 

Oscar-winner Natalie Portman, who has been all over the seaside Croisette promoting her directorial debut A Tale of Love and Darkness this week, said women-led productions were still being written off as “vanity projects”. (Also Read: Shabana Azmi ‘Shocked’ by Reported Ban on Flats at Cannes)

 

“I remember as a kid when Barbra Streisand would make movies that she was in and people would say, ‘oh it’s vanity, it’s a vanity thing’,” said Natalie, criticising the “completely imbalanced” industry that means women direct only a tiny fraction of Hollywood pictures.

 

A talk about gender on the sidelines of the festival opened with the statistic that only 4.6 per cent of US studio films were directed by women last year, and not one Oscar best picture nominee featured a female protagonist.

 

Speaking at the talk, Salma Hayek argued real change would come not from token gestures at festivals but from a realisation that women can bring in the bucks.

 

“The only thing we can do is show them we are an economic force,” said the Mexican actress and producer.

 

“Nothing else will move them. The minute they see money, things will be instantaneously different.”

 

That shift is already happening. In the industry marketplace that runs alongside the festival, sales have been increasingly focused on women viewers this year.

 

“It used to be all about action-driven things with a male demographic, the Stallone-Schwarzenegger type movie,” said Scott Roxborough, a journalist with The Hollywood Reporter.

 

“Everyone now is trying to get women on board to try to appeal to a female audience and not just grab teenage boys. Teenage boys don’t go to movies – they either watch them on the Internet or play video games,” he said.

 

Cate said she was exasperated that this discussion was still happening in 2015. “I want it to not be discussed anymore,” she told Variety. “But it needs to be discussed.”

 

Categories: cate blanchett, female, festival, nbsp, teenage boys, Women, year

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan: Cannes is Like Family to Me

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Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who has been associated with global cosmetic brand L’Oreal Paris since over a decade, is thankful that her association with the brand is not merely about photoshoots. She is glad it offers an ‘opportunity to get in touch with the artistic aspects of the business as well as interaction with its top personalities’.

 

“I am very very thankful that my associations are not just for photoshoots or endorsements for a brand. If you are actually a part of such brand for a long time, you end up having many things,” the former beauty queen said on Wednesday in a video chat from Cannes with the media here.

 

“Yes, we walk the red carpet here (as ambassadors of L’Oreal Paris), get a touch of artistic aspect of this business like styling, makeup, designers, wear gowns, but at the same time, we get an opportunity to interact with the top people of the business,” added the actress, who shared the frame with leading actresses like Salma Hayek and Eva Longoria at the Cannes gala this year.

 

When asked about her experience at the Cannes Film Festival, she said, “It’s family to me. I have a long association with Cannes (International) Film Festival. Then, of course, I had privilege of coming here as a jury member. So, the relationship with this festival started on those grounds, which makes it very familiar for me. Now I have a family-like relationship with this festival.”

 

Categories: aishwarya rai, brand, cannes, Family, festival, film festival, nbsp, oreal paris, rai bachchan

How to Enjoy Diwali Celebrations While Keeping Healthy

When Diwali arrives, the Indian populace around the world take the opportunity to revel in the delight that the festival offers to their senses and their soul. There are so many elements to enjoy – the fantastic array of festival clothes, the amazing array of delicious sweets and the colourful cacophony of fireworks in the night sky. Diwali lights up the cultural, social and religious calendars of most of the Indian community. It’s worth being aware, however, that not every element of Diwali is good for your wellness and wellbeing. Being aware of the health hazards hidden in the midst of the festivities will help you to make informed choices and enjoy the celebrations in a healthy way.

 

Counting calories, for example, becomes a bit of a challenge when you are in the thick of things, but they can really add up and pose a serious threat to your health. Ghee, oil and sweet temptations such as milk halwas, jilebis and laddus all contribute to a wonderful festival, and trying to avoid all of these things and stick to the diet would really take away part of the fun for many. It is worth remembering, however, that many Indians are ethnically prone to diabetes, so really do need to be carefully about the amount of sugar and starch that they consume. That doesn’t mean that you have to miss out on the delicious foods – but try to only have a taste of the sweetest foods, or balance a celebratory meal by having a very light diet for the rest of the day.

 

Fireworks is another area where you need to be careful. The Supreme Court of India has enforced a limit of 125 decibels to avoid noise pollution, and has also made it an offence to set off fire crackers in silent zones (such as within 100 metres of a hospital, school, court or religious institution). As well as the dangers of loud noise, fireworks also pose dangers in terms of pollution and burn injuries.

Categories: array, avoid, Diwali, festival, fireworks, Food, Healthy