Several days after the Cannes festival ended, industry parents delivered a letter to director Thierry Fremaux to notify him of all the ways in which the event could be more accommodating to children. This year, complaints were filed over mothers being turned away from the Marche du Film for their kids not having badges as well as being forced to breastfeed outside. At press time, the letter had been signed by more than 340 people, including Amazon’s Ted Hope, Oscar-nominated writer Robin Swicord (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), filmmaker Marielle Heller (The Diary of a Teenager Girl) and Sundance Institute’s Liz Manashil. (The Cannes press office, closed for vacation through June 6, could not be reached for comment.) Drafted by Agnes Films’ Alexandra Hidalgo, Moms-in-Film founder Mathilde Dratwa and Directed by Women activist Barbara Ann O’Leary, among others, the letter lists easy steps for Cannes to take that can lead to more inclusivity, from letting parents know where they can and cannot bring children to providing child care, dedicated breastfeeding venues and meet-ups for parents. Reads the letter: “There were a number of cases of parents receiving mixed information about attending with children and being sent away because they had babies in their arms.” THR spoke with one of the authors about their hope for the letter, Dratwa, who said that the festival can take great strides by taking three steps: “Prioritization,” by showing that festival organizers care about parents; “communication” in letting parents know what the rules are… [Read full story]
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