Gillian Anderson and L’Oréal Paris Spotlight Next Generation as Momentum for Women Directors Slows

CANNES, France – On the penultimate night of the film festival, L’Oréal Paris once again turned the spotlight toward the next generation of female filmmakers, awarding Chinese director Lenti Liang the sixth annual Lights on Women’s Worth Award for her short film “Our Secrets.”

Celebrated with a splashy ceremony on the beach, Gillian Anderson, who served as this year’s juror, presented the prize to Liang.

During the ceremony, which was presided over by festival president Iris Knobloch and L’Oréal global brand president Laetitia Toupet, Anderson praised Liang’s filmmaking for its restraint and emotional precision, calling it “a beautiful and mature, quiet, confident film.”

She highlighted the director’s use of “small sounds, awkward silences and obscure framing” to capture both adolescent awakening and “the quiet confusion around seemingly innocent actions by a male doctor” that left a lasting emotional impact on her.

“It’s a very, very special film that has stayed with me,” she said.

“There were so many fantastic entries, so varied and inspiring,” Anderson said onstage. “It takes action to get the word out that yes, we women too can direct.”

Anderson added the judging process was “so hard,” and thus added two animated films as honorable mentions, including Fanny Capu’s “Pickled” and Mathilde Bédouet “The Last Spring.”

Opening the ceremony, Knobloch framed the evening as part of the festival’s commitment to support emerging filmmakers and giving more space to women’s perspectives onscreen.

“You are not the cinema of tomorrow, you’re already the cinema of today,” Knobloch told the young directors gathered at the event, addressing the imbalance of stories on screen. “You cannot tell the story of the world with one eye closed.”

Liang, accepting the award onstage, thanked her cast and crew and dedicated the moment to fellow female filmmakers.

The prize includes a grant as well as mentorship from L’Oréal Paris, which launched the initiative in 2021 as part of its film festival involvement to support women in the film industry.

Speaking during the ceremony to an audience stacked with ambassadors including Ariana Greenblatt, Eva Longoria, and Aishwarya Rai, L’Oréal’s Toupet said film remains central to shaping how women are seen and given opportunities.

“Cinema is not just entertainment – cinema shapes society,” she said. “Stories need to be told by women.”

Toupet also acknowledged concerns that progress for women’s representation has stalled – and even gone backwards – in recent years.

“Worth is not in such a great place. We could even say we’re going backwards,” she said. “Worth is a journey. More than ever, we know women need us.”

Eva Longoria

Michael Buckner / WWD

Anderson addressed the continuing lack of opportunities for women behind the camera, and the industry’s overall reluctance to fund female directors.

She said that despite gains made during the #MeToo and Time’s Up era, many female directors are once again struggling to secure work.

She pointed to filmmakers like Zhao as proof that women can successfully helm major productions, while emphasizing that meaningful industry change will require continued perseverance and greater trust from financiers and studios.

Speaking to WWD, she added that momentum generated by the Time’s Up era has slowed in recent years in the current political climate.

“Something changed exponentially when [President]Trump got into office…in terms of perception and importance of championing women,” she said. “Everything took a monumental step backwards.”

Still, Anderson argued that visibility remains key to lasting change. “It’s a matter of having that representation out there on a regular basis for people to get used to it and think that it’s a norm,” she said. “If it wasn’t an issue, we wouldn’t still be having this conversation.”

The Lights on Women’s Worth Award took place as Cannes continued to face scrutiny over gender parity across its official selections, with only five female-directed films among this year’s 22 titles eligible for the Palme d’Or.

For L’Oréal Paris, the initiative has become one of the festival’s most visible intersections between brand partnership and industry advocacy.

“Worth is not a given. It is a journey L’Oréal Paris has been leading for over 50 years,” Toupet said. “Cinema plays a vital role. It shapes society. It gives women role models, inspiration, permission to take their rightful place. But for those stories to exist, women must be the ones telling them.”

Anderson spoke about the overall lack of lasting change in the industry.

“I think unfortunately today women still seem to need to prove that they are viable and talented enough to be financed as directors,” Anderson said. “We have more successful women directors working and making films today, but I still feel there’s a long road ahead.”

Referencing filmmakers such as Greta Gerwig, Chloé Zhao and Emerald Fennell, Anderson noted that the industry remains far from parity when it comes to women being entrusted with large-scale productions.

“You could name on one and a half hands the women who are given the reins to direct proper pictures,” she said, describing financing and studio confidence as ongoing barriers. “It’s still a battle.”

Laetitia Toupet, Lenti Liang, Gillian Anderson and Iris Knobloch (L-R)

Courtesy L’Oréal Paris

Beyond filmmaking, Anderson also discussed the ongoing stigma surrounding women’s sexual health — a subject she has increasingly addressed through her books and entrepreneurial ventures. She said that even her functional drinks brand, G Spot, regularly encounters advertising restrictions online because of language deemed “inappropriate.”

“There’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Anderson said. “There are many other things that are for sale through the online platforms that are much more related to, say, the porn industry, that you can buy readily at the push of a button, so it is still swayed – and not in our favor.

“The more we continue to talk about it, and to point out the differences [in standards], we can chip away at it.”

The Lights on Women’s Worth prize recognizes a standout female filmmaker from the festival’s Short Film and La Cinef film school selections, with 16 films eligible for this year’s award.