Cannes You See Us? Black Women at Cannes FIlm Festival

LOS ANGELES - May 19, 2023 - PRLog -- Melanie Hoyes, head of inclusion at The British Film Institute (BFI) and Yolonda Brinkley, founder of Diversity in Cannes, the independent film movement promoting inclusion at the Cannes Film Festival, are pleased to announce Cannes You See Us: A Celebration of Black Women in Film at the 76th Festival de Cannes, Friday and Saturday, May 19 & 20, 2023.

Introduced by Brinkley with support from Cheryl Polote-Wiliamson's Cheryl Magazine (https://diversityincannes.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=fe523b3ba1ad99b5b9d52e698&id=5f9a3374e9&e=269624d6a1), last May, in response to the gross underrepresentation of Black women in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, the celebration returns with two days of programming in the UK Pavilion and the Marche´ du Film.

"Do Better was my message to Cannes Film Festival leadership in May 2022, as in 75 years, they'd selected only one black woman director in competition, Mati Diop in 2019. This year the number increased to two with the selection of Ramata-Toulaye Sy's "Banel et Adama." While I celebrate and uplift Sy, the Cannes Film Festival still has work to do," comments Yolonda Brinkley, founder of Diversity in Cannes. "However, the paradigm has shifted. I'm no longer interested in fighting the patriarchy, as you know what they say about old dogs and new tricks. Instead, I will use my platform to honor global black women in film at the Cannes Film Festival, indefinitely, and I'm excited to partner with Melanie Hoyes and the British Film Institute to amplify their voices.

A collaboration between the British Film Institute's Inclusion Head, Melanie Hoyes and Diversity in Cannes' Yolonda Brinkley in collaboration with The British Blacklist and Times Up UK, Cannes You See Us: A Celebration of Black Women in Film at the Festival de Cannes will span two days. The festivities begin Friday, May 19, 2023 with a networking lunch and will extend into the UK Pavilion for a global film finance panel and networking reception. The celebration culminates Saturday morning May 20 with coffee, croissants and candid conversation as black women panelists from France, the UK and the USA share their filmmaking journey in the Marche´ du Film.

"Yolonda Brinkley, founder of Diversity in Cannes has independently pioneered the effort to promote inclusion at the Cannes Film Festival since 2010. She's created a blueprint to amplify the authentic voices of diverse filmmakers and the British Film Institute is thrilled to join forces with her to create space at the Cannes Film Festival for black women, who are historically underrepresented in the global film industry," states Melanie Hoyes, BFI Inclusion Head.

In solidarity, black women in attendance are encouraged to upload their images to social media using hashtags #diversityincannes #blackwomenincannes.