The 'Wonder Woman' director is praised for her work on the DC superhero movie, which makes her 'a true source of inspiration for new generations of women in cinema.'
- May 5, 2018
AceShowbiz - Patty Jenkins is to receive the Women in Motion Award at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. The "Wonder Woman" director will be honored with the prize at a special dinner to be held on May 13. She will be presented with the accolade by festival president Pierre Lescure, its director Thierry Fremaux, and Francois-Henri Pinault, president and chief executive officer of international luxury group Kering, which is behind the Women in Motion initiative.
"The past year has represented, in many ways, a turning point in the fight for gender equality," Pinault said in a statement, praising the changes Jenkins "brought about" in the film industry.
"A true source of inspiration for new generations of women in cinema, she has shown them that anything is possible," he continued. "And because with 'Wonder Woman' she has shaped such a true superhero, she has enabled the young generations to imagine a world that can be saved by women and no longer only by men."
Jane Fonda was the first woman to receive the award in 2015, followed by Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon in 2016, while French actress Isabelle Huppert took home the 2017 prize.
The Woman in Motion feature also consists of industry talks focused on women's contribution to cinema, with actresses Robin Wright, Salma Hayek and Diane Kruger all signed up to speak at the event later this month.
"Wonder Woman" was the first female-fronted superhero movie to be released since "Elektra" in 2005 and went on to be the highest-grossing summer film of 2017.
Jenkins is now working on the upcoming sequel, which will see Israeli actress Gal Gadot reprising her titular role alongside Kristen Wiig and "Narcos" star Pedro Pascal. The picture is currently in pre-production and is expected to hit cinemas in late 2019.
Aside from "Wonder Woman", Jenkins also directed 2003's film "Monster", which starred Charlize Theron.
