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Oscar winner Angelina Jolie made a special appearance at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday night to present the Trophée Chopard to rising stars Marie Colomb and Finn Bennett. During the glamorous dinner ceremony, Jolie reflected on the power of international cinema to make an impact in times of global turmoil.
“I love international cinema,” Jolie told the star-studded assembly of guests, which included Cannes jury president Juliette Binoche and her fellow jurors, including Halle Berry, Jeremy Strong, Leïla Slimani and Alba Rohrwacher, as well as Quentin Tarantino and Carla Bruni. “We are brought to other lands, into private moments, even on the battlefield, we connect and we empathize. I think of films like ‘My Father Shadow’ [set during the during the 1993 Nigerian election crisis], which is premiering here at Cannes. Anything that is possible to make international cinema more accessible is necessary and welcome.”
“And none of us are naive,” Jolie, whose contributions as a humanitarian are as vaunted as her acting career, continued. “We know that many artists around the world lack the freedom and security to tell their stories, and many have lost their lives like Fatima Hassouna, killed in Gaza, Shaden Gardood killed in Sudan, and Victoria Amelina killed in Ukraine, and so many other extraordinary artists who should be with us now. We owe all of those risking their lives and sharing their stories and experiences a debt of gratitude, because they have helped us to learn and to evolve.”
The presentation of the 25th edition of the Trophée Chopard took place during a dinner on Carlton Beach co-hosted by Cannes Film Festival president Iris Knobloch, general delegate Thierry Frémaux and Chopard co-president and artistic director Caroline Scheufele.
Created in 2001, the Trophée Chopard celebrates emerging international cinema talent, each year honoring one actress and one actor with promising careers. Colomb and Bennett follow last year’s honorees Sophie Wilde and Mike Faist. Other recipients for the award, which often heralds more laurels to come, include Marion Cotillard, Diane Kruger, Léa Seydoux, Florence Pugh, Jessie Buckley, Niels Schneider, Jeremy Irvine and Joe Alwyn.
So, what is it like to have Jolie as your fairy godmother?
“She really cares about fostering young actors. I feel really honored, really lucky to be here,” Bennett told Variety at the dinner about meeting Jolie. “I just wanted to ask how she does it all. Like, as you can see, this is crazy. And she deals with it so well, completely calmly. And I think that’s amazing.”
Colomb, too, was struck by Jolie’s down-to-earth nature as they ascended the famed red steps at the Grand Lumiere before the Chopard event.
“She’s gorgeous, she’s super beautiful. I was looking at her and I was like, ‘Wow! It’s incredible, it’s unreal.’ And at the same time it’s funny because when I met her, I met a normal, nice human being,” Colomb said. “Then when you see the photos or videos afterwards, all my friends write to me like, ‘What is that?’ So, it’s pretty crazy but cool at the same time.”
Jolie shared similar praise for the young talents. “I think they’re very brave in their work. They make very brave choices, and they’re very committed and emotional and open, so they are very promising creatives, and I think they’re gonna give a lot,” Jolie told Variety. “They seem like very gracious, grateful young people, who are very professional.”
Jolie also shared the best advice her godmother, Jacqueline Bissett, gave her about navigating the business: “Learn French and do French films.”
