Julianne Moore Calls Out The Way Women 'Are Expected To Behave' At Cannes Film Festival

Julianne Moore has called out the expectations for women to dress and behave a particular way at the Cannes Film Festival.

While discussing her film May December, the scandalous romance drama that premiered at the event on Saturday (and received an eight-minute standing ovation), the Oscar-winning actor spoke about the 'the different ways we, as women, are expected to behave at this festival even compared to men… how we’re supposed to look, how we’re supposed to carry ourselves'.

'The expectations are different on you all the time. It affects how you behave, whether you are buying into or rejecting it. You’re defined by the social structures upon you.' She continued: 'Women are not a minority group. We’re 50% of the population. So it’s important we’re treated as such.'

julianne moore women expectations cannes

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Moore's words echo the sentiments she previously shared during a Mastercard MasterClass at Cannes Film Festival in 2019, at which point she called for the film industry to make more effort towards gender parity in Hollywood.

'We will not have gender parity unless everybody is cooperating. Women are not a special interest group. We’re 52 percent of the global population,' she said.

'In order to restore the balance, I do think that there will be, that we will need some measures to change our culture.

'We will have to make major changes to reach parity. That’s just a fact. So, I do believe in quotas. I really do.'

She added: 'I believe in trying to level the playing field for everybody regardless of their gender or their culture or ethnicity. You have to open doors.'

The Cannes Film Festival has been criticised over the years for its lack of female representation.

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In 2022, the festival set a new record for women directors with just five names out of 21 in competition for the prestigious Palme d’Or award.

This year, six female directors are competing for the same accolade, from a reduced selection of 19 films, which is the equivalent of 32% of the overall competition.

In May December, Moore stars as Gracie Atherton-Yoo, who was reviled in America's tabloid press after her affair with a teenager when she was aged 36.

The film, directed by Todd Haynes and starring Natalie Portman, picks up 20 years after the characters' romance, as their twins are set to graduate from high school, and their family dynamics change under the strain of the outside gaze.