World Woman Cannes Hosts A Two-Day Event
Rupa Dash (center) pictured with Kariman Abuljadayel, the first Saudi woman to compete in the 100 m at the 2024 Paris Olympics (left); and Saudi artist, director and producer Nabila Abuljadayel (right) | Photo Credit: World Woman Foundation
Bringing together men and women from media and entertainment, the conference dove into topics that aim to empower female filmmakers
This is Rupa Dash, the CEO and Founder of the World Woman Foundation’s first time hosting a conference at the Cannes Film Festival. Taking place over two days, the World Woman Cannes conference has brought together men and women to discuss women’s roles in the media and entertainment industry. Held at the Hotel Splendid, directly across from the festival’s goings-on at the Palais des Festivals, the event has seen the likes of the Honorable Margareth Menezes, Brazil’s Minister of Culture; Oscar-nominated actress Veronica Ferres; as well as Rusudan Glurjidze and Ayşe Polat, visionary directors from Europe and the Middle East.
“With less than 30% of global film festival selections coming from non-Western countries, the urgency to amplify these voices is clear,” Dash tells SEELE. “These stories are not just important, they are essential to shape the cultural, emotional, and creative evolution of cinema in the age of intelligence. And it takes intention and organization just like us to take the lead and build a democratic platform to disrupt the dominant narrative and offer a bold new perspective that is about dignity, choice and equality.”
Day 1 of the event | Photo Credit: World Woman Foundation
Day one’s opening panel “The Future is Female Led” featured Dash, French actress Marianne Borgo, and Countess Chiara Modica Donà dalle Rose, philanthropist, lawyer, art curator and collector. Discussions on the art of storytelling to shift cultural perceptions brought engaging discussions. The closing panel on “Shaping Narratives and the Equality Moonshot” featured Eva Gutowski, DJ, music producer, and fashion creator; Nabila Abuljadayel, Saudi artist, director and producer; Samih Sawiris, chairman, Andermatt Swiss Alps AG, and Rupa Dash.
Sawiris, who has been successful in the business world, is a lover of cinema, and has worked to champion the artform in his native Egypt. It was by challenging himself to learn to play music that he entered the film world. “I was borderline depressed and I had to fill my life again,” he told the audience. “It started when I was 59 and learning how to play music, because I had never played an instrument, though I loved classical music. At 65 I performed a piano concerto with an orchestra. This is how I got into the movie business. I decided I needed a new challenge for me personally, and the new challenge is to direct a movie.”
Samih, along with his brother Naguib Sawiris and Egyptian squash champion Amr Mansi founded the El Gouna Film Festival that takes place on Egypt’s Red Sea every October.
Day two saw panels on violence against women, discussing the need to champion survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, on standards for women in media, and more.
